The Little Flame
by AngryBirdx
Summary: What would become of the Everdeen family if Katniss and Gale left on the day of the reaping? Could Prim survive the Hunger Games? And without the Mockingjay would there be a rebellion?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: katniss

The fence enclosing district 12 is never live with electricity. No-one in history has defied the capitol by attempting escape and besides, where would they go? Life in 12 is awful, everyone is malnourished, but it's the only life they know. No-one can be sure what the other 11 districts are like, or how to get there. The only people ever to see the other districts are victors, and we don't have many of those so the stories are scarce. But reaping day is the one day each year where every parent wishes they could send their children away from the 'safety' of district 12 because whatever lies beyond the border cannot be any worse than the arena.

Today is reaping day yet the fence is still silent as I slide underneath it to meet gale. We trespass into the woods whenever we can, reaping day or not, people will still trade for whatever we catch. Gale perches on the log where I hide my bow and sheath of arrows. Beside him on the log is a loaf of bread and the smell tells me its fresh.

"Hey catnip, ready for the big day?" I don't understand how gale can turn the hunger games into a joke. I worry about how many times my name is entered this year but I know that gale will have his name in even more. Despite my fear I manage a smile and reply "may the odds be ever in your favour.."

As we move further into the woods to find some decent prey, gale falls silent and I know that he is worried about the reaping. The funny thing is, Gale is probably the only person in 12 who might have a chance of winning. He's strong, knows how to handle a weapon, and his looks would earn plenty of sponsors. I dread to think how bad I'd be in there, or poor little Prim. I've tried not to think about it, but Prim turned 12 last month so today her name will be in the pot for the first time. Only once though, the odds are in her favour.

Our haul includes a few squirrel and a couple of birds. On a normal day we'd catch more, but neither of our hearts are really in it. We won't get a decent trade on reaping day anyway, too many peacekeepers about and people are willing to pay less. We decide to take a break as we sit down to enjoy the bread that gale bought. Its only then that I remember the goats cheese that prim left out for me. We sit in a glade and we much quietly on the bread and cheese. Gale catches me gazing and the large expanse of forest and his words match my thoughts. "We could do it, take off and live in the woods. They'd never catch us and we'd be free."

I'm tempted, as I always am on reaping day. But I couldn't leave prim behind. Both her and mother rely on me, rely on my hunting. With just the goat and my mother's healing, they'd starve within a few months. Then prim would have to sign up for tesserae. The thought of her getting reaped breaks my heart.

Gale continues "I'm serious. We could leave, right now. We've got our weapons. We'd never be short of food." I know he's right, we'd find plenty of food. Probably eat better than most people in district 2 even! " But I don't know where we'd go. And once we left there'd be no coming back."

I sit and consider what my dad would have done before the accident. All of a sudden, I have an urge to do it. Gale's right, we could easily make a life for ourselves in the woods. But we'd have to take our families. Prim would be easily persuaded, and mother wouldn't want to lose us. Gale's family would be harder, with very young siblings. It would slow us down, but we'd manage. We could teach Rory and Prim how to hunt.

Gale has suggested this before; he's always had a rebellious streak inside him. When we hunt he always blurts out his real thoughts about the Capitol. Neither of us would dream of speaking words like that inside the district boundaries. Even out here I'm scared to badmouth the Capitol, even though secretly I want to scream to the heavens how much I hate them and what they do to us. Taking children from each district, trapping them in an arena and forcing them to fight each other until only one survives.

This will be the 5th year I will have to stand in the square, awaiting my fate. If my name is read out this afternoon, this hunting session with Gale will have been my last. The thought of escaping the reaping forever stirs up the fire lf rebellion in me.

"Lets do it." I blurt out. "but we'll have to go back and get the others. Prim would never forgive me if we left without her."

Gale smiles, glad that I'm on board with this plan. It's completely mental but it somehow seems like the right thing to do.

As we stand up to race back to the fence we hear a sound that makes my stomach drop. The blast of a horn from the mines signifies that it's one o'clock. The reaping starts in an hour. Gale looks as me as we both realise our grave mistake. The city will already be crawling with peacekeepers, there's no way we'll make it under the fence unseen. And the punishment for that will be worse than the reaping.

"We'll have to run on our own Catnip" says Gale. The thought of leaving prim to face her first reaping alone is unthinkable but I know he's right. Our own stupidity means we have left ourselves no option but to take off into the woods.

Gale takes my hand and leads me into the dense cover of the trees, I assume the only direction he's following is to take us as far away from the district as possible. As far away from home. As far away from Prim.

"Good luck Prim" I whisper. And for the first time in my life I am relying on the odds being in her favour.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N. Just want to say thanks to all who read chapter 1. This is my first serious fanfic so any reviews would be great.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.**

Prim.

I hear the sound from the mines signaling 1o'clock. The men will be leaving now, a chance to go home and spend time with their families before the reaping. Katniss still isn't home. She promised me she'd be home by now, she said she'd help me get dressed. Mum tells me that my bath is ready. I want to stay here, to watch the door. I want to see what my sister has caught this time.

But I cant be late for my first reaping, so I head to the bathroom and immerse myself in the tepid water. Its in the privacy of this room that I allow myself to cry. I havent let mother see me affected by today, although the reaping days must be just as hard for parents as it is for the children. Strangely these tears are not for myself, I cry for Katniss. Because I know the chances of the one and only slip with my name on being picked are slim. Katniss has her name in there many more times, and the thought of losing her makes me cry.

I scrub all the dirt off me, and wash my hair ready to be braided. I see mother has left a skirt and blouse on my bed and I recognize it as the outfit Katniss wore for her first reaping. She was safe that year and I only hope that it brings me the same luck.

Once I am dressed I go downstairs to find mother sitting on a chair facing the door. Its clear to see that Katniss has not come home yet. She knows what an important day this is and I wonder where she is. Mother had found one of her own dresses for Katniss to wear for the reaping, I saw it laid out on her bed.

She turns to me and I can see that she has been crying. "I don't know where she is, Prim. But we can't be late. We must hope she's getting ready at Gale's, Hazel will have plenty of dresses that fit her."

She takes my hand and we leave the house and make our way to the square. The pens for the children are already filling up, as are the stands for the spectating parents. Mother gives me one last hug, she says "I'll see you later for supper, and she leaves me alone in the check-in queue. I join the group of 12 year old girls huddled at the front. I find a space next to some girls I know from school but we cant manage any small talk. It's the first reaping for all of us.

When the clock tower strikes two, Effie Trinket steps out onto the stage. She has pink hair this year, and if the situation wasn't so tense I'd laugh, she looks ridiculous. She launches into her speech about the capitol, and the dark days. As a spectator you don't realise how long it is, but for my first time in the danger zone it seems to drag. I want her to speed up and get the misery over.

She steps over towards the left hand bowl. "ladies first!" she says followed by her strange giggle. She puts her hand in the bowl, swirls it around and picks a slip from somewhere in the middle. I zone out, and begin to wonder if Katniss is here. I am bought crashing down to earth when I hear Effie's voice read the name Everdeen.

I panic, I want to catch a glimpse of Katniss making her way to the stage. There is no movement from the 16 age group. I then realise that the group near me are staring at me. It cant be me, I was only entered once. Effie repeats herself, "Primrose Everdeen." I feel the blood drain from my face, my feet move on their own account, taking me closer to the stage. I still cant see Katniss, and I am aware of the silence engulfing the square. Peacekeepers escort me to the stage where Effie shakes my hand, congratulating me on my imminent death.

I know that somewhere out there in the square the cameras are pointed at me. Being only 12 years old already makes me look weak. I don't need tears to make me look even weaker. So even though all I want to do is cry I hold the tears back.

I black out as Peeta Mellark is picked as the male tribute. I vaguely know the name, he's the same age as Katniss, and the son of the baker. I often trade my goats cheese with his father in return for bread. Peeta shakes my hand, but I am still zoned out. I am back in the safety of my house, Katniss is brushing the braids out of my hair while mother is cooking a stew using the meat Katniss bought home for us.

I know this is only a distant memory, and a scene I will never enjoy again. Peeta and I are ushered into the justice building behind us. It is here that we will get a few precious minutes to say goodbye to our families.

When mother enters the room Katniss is not with her and it is this that makes me cry. We don't say much, mother just holds me until the guards come to take her away. She knows as well as I do that a 12 year girl from an outlying district stands no chance of returning home. This is our last goodbye. She takes a necklace out of her pocket and fastens it behind my neck. Hanging on the end of the plain gold chain is my father's wedding ring. Mother still wears hers. She means me to have this as my token in the arena. I hope that wearing it will mean my father will be there when I die.

A peacekeeper enters the room to escort mother out. As the door shuts the last words I hear from her are "I Love you Prim. Never forget…"

I don't get any other visitors.

Katniss doesn't come to see me.

I am taken to the Capitol.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thank you for the reads and reviews.**

Katniss.

Judging by the position of the sun it was well past 4 in the afternoon. That meant that by now 2 families in district 12 had become ripped apart by the reaping. One girl and one boy from those families would be on a train to the Capitol, living a life of luxury for a short time until their deaths. Hopefully it wouldn't be Prim, her and mother would be dining on squirrel stew tonight. It would be their last squirrel now I'm not there to hunt for them.

Despite heading into the woods 3 hours ago I don't think we'd walked far. The huge chimneys of the mines were still in sight. I know 12 is an outlying district but I'm not sure how far away the other districts are. That's not the kind of thing we get taught at school. We know that there were originally 13 districts, 13 was destroyed during the dark days. All we get taught about are what the other districts produce. Mostly at school we learn about our own district's products, coal.

The sun was beginning to dip as the day grew slowly towards night. I've never spent a night away from Prim and Mother, and it was really beginning to hit home how much I actually missed them. Mother and I hadn't been on good terms since my father died. After the mining accident she zoned out, left us for weeks. Prim and I nearly died of starvation. We'd been getting better recently, me and mother, and I really miss her. "Stop walking Gale, this is hopeless. For all we know we could be miles away from the nearest district and we have no idea which direction that lies in." I sat down on a log, refusing to move any further. "I think we should just go back. The peacekeepers will have left 12 by now, it'll be easy to slip back under the fence."

"And then what, Catnip? How do we explain our absence at the reaping?"

I was silent. Gale was right.

He continued. "You knew that once we left the district there was no going back. I know its hard leaving your family behind, I feel exactly the same. They'll find a way to get by without us."

I snapped back. "You say they'll be fine, but they won't. The Capitol will punish our families for our disappearance. Next year the reaping will be rigged. Both Prim and Rory will be sent into the arena and they'll die. We've lead them to a death sentence Gale. They'll die and it's all our fault." MY voice faltered at the end as I began to sob. I saw a tear trickle down Gale's face and I knew what I'd said was too harsh. It was true though.

Gale allowed me about an hour to calm myself down and rest. Meanwhile he shot a rabbit, skinned it and got it roasting over a fire. The smell of it roused me from my thoughts and back into the real world. I smiled at Gale as he passed me a bit of the rabbit to eat.

"What are we doing, Gale? Where are we going to live?" I asked.

"We need to find somewhere far away from the boundaries of 12. Somewhere with plenty of wildlife, plenty of trees for shelter." He looked around at the area we were in. "Somewhere a bit like this, but we need to walk further away from 12. I still feel too close."

Suddenly I became aware that the birds around us in the trees had fallen silent. "I think we need to hide." I wasn't sure why I suggested it but I had this eerie feeling that Gale and I could be in trouble. We found a hollow space inside a bush slightly to the left of the log I'd been sitting on. It was tight to fit both of us in, our bodies had to be pushed closely together and it felt awkward. Sounds of metallic whirring could be heard above us and when I opened my eyes I could see one of the Capitol's hover planes in the sky. After a few minutes of circling, it continued its journey away from our hiding place.

"A search plane for us?" I whispered to Gale and he nodded. We waited a few more minutes to be sure it wouldn't return before crawling out from underneath the shrub. "We need to leave. Now."

I retrieved the hunting bags from where the fire had been, relieved that Gale had stamped it out before hiding. No doubt the Capitol plane would have seen it and then this would all have been for nothing. I surveyed all the possible paths leading away from this place, ignoring the direction we had just come from. "Which way?"

"When my dad used to take me hunting before I met you," Gale began, "If we ever got lost he always used to joke that taking the road South would take you where you needed to go."

I laughed. I never knew Gale's father, he died in the same mining accident as mine. It was after the death of our fathers that we met in the woods and became hunting partners. It was my dad's voice in my head that pushed me to leave district 12 so it only seems fair that we follow whatever advice Mr Hawthorne has been giving Gale.

"South it is then."

**Prim**

The train was just amazing, with crystal chandeliers and silk tablecloths. Luxury items built with blood money from past hunger games. Effie had shown us to our bedrooms and then left us alone for a few hours. It would be dinner soon, I was strangely excited to sample my first taste of Capitol food, and after that we would watch the reapings. It would be our first chance to analyse the tributes from the other districts, identify our competition and any potential allies.

I wondered if Katniss was at home with mother. But the fact that she hadn't come to see me in the justice building made me think that she never showed up to the reaping, that she was still out in the woods of district 12. At least she was still in district 12.

At 5 o'clock Peeta knocked on my door, wanting to know if I was ready for dinner. His eyes were red and puffy, classic signs that he'd been crying. I noticed I was hungry so accepted his invitation to escort me to dinner.

"You're Katniss' little sister right?"

I nod.

"My dad buys her squirrels sometimes. He says he gets goats cheese from you too."

"I have a goat called Lady. We don't need all the milk she makes so Katniss suggested that I trade the cheese."

"She's a clever girl your sister. I've tried the cheese, your goat does well. I bet the Capitol food will be really special."

It makes me giggle and I wonder why Peeta is being so nice to me. The Hunger Games is not the place to find friends. Allies, yes. But not friends.

The dinner is just as good as I thought. There are rolls from every district, although I eat only the district 12 ones. There's a lamb stew that I just can't eat enough of. We drink Orange juice, I sometimes trade a cheese for apples at home but I've never had much taste for oranges until now. This liquid is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. Everyone has stopped eating but I feel that I can fit more in my expandable stomach, so I continue piling my plate high. Ironic that the smallest person in the room is eating the most.

When I finally decide that I am full to burst, Effie ushers us into a room with a large screen just in time to see a recap of the reapings. The career tributes from districts 1 and 2 look just as scary as ever, particularly the girl from 2 who doesn't look much older or taller than me. Her name sticks in my mind, Clove, because I remember that mother uses cloves in her healing remedies at home.

Although I've decided not to have any allies, I watch the reapings and make a note of which tributes to avoid. Obviously the Careers. A redhead girl from 5 looks dangerous too. She doesn't look scary but very intelligent and the arena can be challenging mentally as well as physically.

The tributes from disctricts 6-10 are rather forgettable but it is the tributes from 11 that shock me. The girl's name is Rue and just like me she's the youngest possible tribute at the age of 12. She reminds me of myself and it's at this moment that I decide I was wrong.

I want Rue as an ally.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N. Thank you to everyone who's been reading this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games or any of the characters.**

Prim

After a long reaping day sleep finds me easy and it takes Effie knocking on my door to wake me up. I can hear her telling me that today will be a "big big big day!" so I obligingly drag myself out of bed.

The shower in my room is the most amazing thing I've seen but in my eagerness to eat breakfast I skip a shower. After all, this afternoon I'll meet my stylist and prep team. They can deal with me. I dress myself in a pair of black trousers even though they are too long for me, and a plain orange top. Remembering the necklace mum gave me, I put this on and then run down the carriage to the breakfast room. Laid on the table are numerous rolls, cakes and delicacies. Effie and Peeta are already eating. There is another man at the table, he has shaggy blond hair and there are bags under his eyes. I assume this must be Haymitch, the only district 12 victor and our mentor.

"Nice of you to join us sweetheart" he jokes.

I take a seat next to Peeta and begin piling food on my plate, ignoring the rudeness of Haymitch.

I have more Orange juice at breakfast, in fact Peeta has to stop me when I begin pouring my 6th glass. He's right, the last thing I want is to be sick but I want to enjoy the finer things in life while I can. I give up on the orange juice and stuff myself with croissants dipped in hot chocolate. Hot chocolate was new to me too and its almost as good as orange juice.

We are due to arrive into the Capitol shortly after lunchtime so until then we get time to ourselves. Peeta and I decide to spend it with Haymitch. His job is to get one of us out alive although this far he has lost every single tribute.

Peeta kicks of the discussion. "So, Haymitch, what's our strategy?"

Haymitch snorted and spat out two words. "Stay alive."

"Stay alive?" I spat back. "No wonder all your tributes die. You cant stay off the drink long enough to make an effort."

Effie gasped. Peeta stared at me. No-one expected the meek 12 year old to have such an outburst. It was true though. He'd been banned from the reaping a few years ago because he turned up so drunk he fell off the stage. Since then he never bothered turning up. Every year the 2 district 12 tributes die in the first 24 hours. Maybe none of them were willing to fight, but I was. And I think Peeta was too. I knew I wasn't going to win it but for Katniss and Mother I had to try my best. It wasn't in my nature to give up.

"Got myself a fighter this year have I?" he questioned. "Well it's no good talking the talk if you can't walk the walk. Unless you've got any particular skills, neither of you stand a chance. Don't get me wrong, you're both rather attractive so sponsors will be easy to get but that won't be enough."

It was harsh but true. I wasn't like Katniss, I couldn't shoot. At least Peeta had physical strength.

"Peeta's strong. I've seen him at the bakers, he can lift and throw 2 bags of flour at a time." I blurted out. "But I'm afraid I've got nothing. My sister is a whizz with a bow and arrow but I've never tried."

Haymitch sat deep in thought. I wondered if he's blacked out because it went 5 minutes without him saying anything and then suddenly, "Might have some decent tributes this year then. Physical strength is an important attribute in the arena, especially in hand to hand combat." So Haymitch thought Peeta stood a chance. Well I guess if I'm going to die I'd want Peeta to win. That way at least one of us would be returning home alive. Maybe he might give some victory money to my family as consolation.

But Haymitch continued, addressing me, "And we can really sell the innocent 12 year old angle. Work on archeryin training, see if the talent runs in the family. If not, switch to survival skills. The hiding tactic can work just as well as the fighting one."

I notice that while we've been talking, it turned dark outside the train. Seeing as it's not anywhere near night time, this can only mean that we have entered the Capitol Tunnel. I am right, and 5 minutes later blinding light enters the carriage and I can hear cheers outside the window. Peeta grabs my hand and pulls me to the window to get a better look at the Capitol and the people.

All the people are hideous, some have animals whiskers, others have died or tattooed their skin. It's a sea of rainbow people out there and they are shouting for us. I find myself smiling and waving back at them, these people could be my sponsors and I'm going to need all the help I can get.

In the remake centre I meet my prep team who are in charge of scrubbing and plucking me until I'm ready to meet my stylist. The waxing hurts, and the oils they put on my skin makes it tingle. The only part I enjoy is having my hair done, they wash it and make it smell like lavender. After that they put it back into the single braid like my mother did yesterday.

I don't know how long I spend at the remake centre but it feels like years. All the time I spend with my stylists I am forced to pretend to take an interest in their small talk. I learnt that a woman called Sparkle is unhappy with her new leopard print skin and wants to dye it back to hot pink. I learnt that Venice spent a large amount of money having a special shade of eyeliner made to match his outfit for interview day. Gosh, people in the Capitol are so shallow.

Finally the prep team are content with their work and lead me to a room where I wait for my stylist. At the Tribute Parade all the tributes are dressed to match their industry, district 12 always get the new stylists and every year we're dressed in miners outfits. My Prep team has told me that I have a new stylist Cinna, and his idea for my costume is different and bound to get me noticed. I'm going to be naked, I'm sure of it.

Amidst my worries, the door opens and Cinna walks in. For a Capitol citizen he is surprisingly normal, I can see no signs of alterations and his first move wasn't to congratulate me on being chosen. Instead he apologises for what I am being forced to face.

"My name is Cinna. I asked for district 12 this year, I'm sick of seeing you dressed in miners outfits and I'm determined to do something different. I'm going to focus on the coal, and the way it burns. We weren't expecting such a young tribute this year so the dress is undergoing a few alterations, it'll be here in a minute."

It turns out to be the most amazing dress ever. Its floor length, at the bottom it's a dark black representing the coal. Moving upwards it moves from red to orange to yellow. I look like I'm on fire. I look pretty. My make up is natural, Cinna doesn't want to hide the innocence in my face, and the dress makes enough of a statement.

Peeta waits for me at the chariot dressed in a suit with the same colour scheme as my dress.

"Good Luck, my little flame. Do the outfit proud!" Cinna cheered just as the district 1 chariot was pulling away.

Soon enough it was our turn, when the horses for our chariot pulled us into the parade I automatically grabbed Peeta's hand for support. The parade was a blur, I could hear my name being chanted, roses were being thrown in our direction. I even managed to catch one.

All the chariots pulled up in front of the balcony where President Snow was sat, he stood poised at the microphone ready to deliver his speech.

"My dear Tributes, may I welcome you to the Capitol! You lucky 24 have been given the honour to spend time with us here before your selfless sacrifice. For that sacrifice, we thank you!" There was a roar of applause from the thousands of audience members from around us, and a scattering of applause from the Career tributes. The rest of us stayed silent as the chariots were taken back to the training centre where we'd finally be shown to our rooms.

"You. Were. Amazing!" Roared Cinna, pulling me into a bear hug. "I don't know who gave you the order to hold hands, but it showed unity. A perfect touch of rebellion." I hadn't realised that I'd held Peeta's hand all the way round, clearly I needed the support and I'm glad he'd kept hold of me.

Haymitch and Effie both congratulated us on our fine performance out there and Haymitch chuckled, "You stole the show sweetheart, we'll have people queuing up to sponsor you in the morning, before you've even entered the arena!" As much as I didn't like Haymitch, I had to crack a smile at this news. Effie pulled Peeta and I into a hug, then grabbed our hands and pulled us towards the elevator. "You must be shattered after today, I think it's time we all turned in for the night. Are you ready to see your rooms?"

As district 12 we occupied the 12th floor of the building. Effie showed me to my room and my jaw dropped on sight of it. The lounge and dining area were both huge, the sofas looked soft enough to be made out of clouds, and the carpet beneath us felt like we were walking on cotton wool. And the bedroom, oh wow! A double bed that could fit an entire district 12 family in. The bedsheets were pure satin. I wasn't tired but I couldn't wait to get into bed!

The bedroom alone was bigger than my entire home back in district 12. A tear formed in the corner of my eye at the thought of home and I had to usher Effie out of the room before she saw me break down.

Without even changing out of Cinna's fantastic dress, I crawled into bed and let the tears fall. What would mother and Katniss be doing now? Could it really have been a full 24 hours that I've been away from them?

All my friends would have been back at school today after having a day off for the reaping. I wondered if they had got on with their lives like normal or whether they missed me at all. I wondered if Katniss had come home from the woods yet. Would the peacekeepers have punished her and Gale for missing the reaping, or would it be up to the Capitol to punish her.

And in a strange turn of events I stopped worrying about the games and worried about her instead.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N, thought i'd treat you reader to another chapter because I wont be able to update over the weekend. Hope you like it, if you do, please review!**

**I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the characters.**

Katniss

Last night was the first night I've ever spent away from Mother at Prim. We'd walked for another couple of hours after the Hover plane incident. We were lucky to stumble upon a huge tree will 2 holes in the trunk, large enough to fit us in. In the safety of the tree we were sheltered from the weather, and it offered some warmth.

When the sun rose, I crawled out my tree cave to find the Gale was still asleep. This is why he'd never be any good working down the mines, his inability to wake up early. By my reckoning it must have been just past 8 in the morning, the sun was fighting its way through the clouds and the dense roof of trees above us. While Gale had a lie-in I decided to check the snares that we'd set before going to sleep last night. The snares I set only caught a rabbit, while Gale's snares caught a haul of 7 animals; a mixture of squirrels, rabbits and even a wild dog.

From where we'd set the snares I could hear running water, and after walking for about 5 minutes eastwards I found a large stream. I tied the game bag around a branch of a tree meaning it was high up out of the way of anything else that wanted to eat it. I slipped off my boots and dipped my feet into the water to test the temperature. It was cold but pleasantly so, so I took off the rest of my clothes and jumped in. I gave my clothes a quick wash and then laid them on a rock by the side.

The irony of the situation hit me and made me giggle. This new life that Gale and I had chosen was exactly like living in a permanent hunger games. Hiding and living in the woods, hunting for food, bathing in a stream. We even had the threat of people wanting to kill us if we were found. In my hysteric state of manic laughter I didn't hear the footsteps approaching the stream.

"I wondered where you'd wandered off to, Catnip!" I heard Gales voice as he emerged from the trees. He spotted the hanging game bag first, then my clothes drying on the rock. Finally his eyes switched to me in the water. I could only hope that this water was murky enough to protect my dignity.

"You going to tell me whats so funny?" he enquired.

"I just felt like I'm in the Hunger Games. Its feels like we've run into exactly what we were running from."

He laughed, "I know what you mean, but we haven't got bloodthirsty Careers after us. I could get used to living like this. Mind if I join you?" And just like that, Gale started stripping. Right in front of me. First the boots, then the shirt, then the trousers. When Gale was stood in front of me in just his underwear I had to look away. He was a pretty sight, yes, but I just wasn't ready to see him fully naked. I don't think I ever will be.

A splash somewhere behind me told me that Gale was underwater and that I was safe to open my eyes. He surfaced to the side of me then swam towards me.

"Don't come any closer, Gale. You're naked, I'm naked. We don't need to make this awkward," I was beginning to panic now. Mother wasn't bother by nudity due to her healing, and even Prim was unaffected because she often helped out.

Gale bellowed with laughter, "Oh come on Catnip, it's completely normal. Don't you like my body?"

He was teasing me now and it wasn't fair. I splashed water in his direction, trying to keep him away from me. It was a pretty good shot, I got him right in the eye. Before he could retaliate, I climbed up the bank, grabbed my clothes and ran back into the cover of the trees.

The short run back to 'camp' gave me a chance to dry off so I put my clothes back on before Gale could come back. Having left the game bag hanging by the water, I could only hope that Gale would see it and remember to bring it back, I set the fire going and then occupied myself by hunting for any edible berries.

With a handful of nuts and berries, a rustle in the trees behind me meant that Gale had returned to camp, thankfully he was fully clothed. By the time I had turned round he was busy skinning the wild dog ready to eat.

"I'm sorry for acting like that back there, but you know how uncomfortable I get," I had to apologise. I was too harsh back there, and if we're going to make this work we can't argue.

"No, it's me who should apologise. I know I'm more mature than you about the whole nudity situation. It was wrong of me to tease you about it.."

"More mature than me? Are you serious? Just because I have a slight problem with naked bodies, that doesn't make me immature. Anyway, let's just forget it and get this dog cooked."

The dog wasn't that big so a mere 10 minutes on the fire is enough. It's the first wild dog I've eaten like this, normally we sell them to Greasy Sae who cooks them in her stew to sell at the Hob. I think it tastes a little like deer, from what I can remember.

We eat in silence and for the first time, spending time with Gale makes me feel awkward. I get the feeling that Gale isn't ready to give up on our earlier conversation. This feeling is confirmed when Gale finishes his dog and restarts our debate.

"I just don't understand what you're so worried about. What's the worst that can happen? You don't like what you see? Or is it the opposite that you're worried about?"

I snorted, "Get over yourself Gale."

He looked dejected, "You mean to say you've never felt anything?

"Between us? Gale, you're 2 years older than me. We hunt together. Becoming anything more than hunting partners hasn't even crossed my mind. I'm sorry.."

He leant in towards me. "Maybe this might change your mind."

When he kissed me, the world as I knew it ended.

Prim

When I woke up, it took me a few moments to process where I was. This was my first morning waking up in the Capitol; the luxurious bed ensured one of the best night's sleep I've ever had.

The dining room is empty when I get down there for breakfast. I hadn't realised how early I'd woken up, but only 5 minutes after me, Peeta and Haymitch entered the dining room just as I was pouring a glass of orange juice from the jug on the table.

"Remember to fill up on protein this morning in preparation for training," advised Haymitch. Well at least he was giving us some decent advice at last. But I was worried about training, I needed to try all the weapons to see if I had even a tiny bit of skill with one of them.

In the training room, we are told about all the different stations, warned us not to ignore survival skills. We have a couple of hours of training before lunch, and then more hours after. I decide to take the hours before lunch handling the weapons and then focussing on the survival skills station after lunch. Then I could spend the whole day tomorrow doing whichever I was best at.

Like Haymitch suggested, I try out the bow and arrow to see if I possess some of Katniss' talent. I shoot 5 arrows and completely miss the target every time. So that's a definite no. The girl from 2, Clove, is using the throwing knives and hitting the target every time. I decide I'd rather not try and fight her for those weapons at the Cornucopia, so there's not point attempting them. I find that spears and the sword are also not the weapons for me. Sparring with the trainer, the sword is knocked out of my hands every time, and I miss the target throwing the spear.

Just shortly before lunch I try my hand at the last available weapon, the slingshot. I miss with the first 2 shots, but with my 3rd attempt I hit the dummy square in the forehead. I hit the eye with the 4th ammunition. I shoot once more and then decide to move on, we're not meant to show our skills too early on.

At lunch I sit with Peeta and we discuss the morning training session. He spent some time with the weights before remembering the advice about not letting people know our strengths.

"After that I spent the rest of the time at the camouflage station, I was the only one there so the one-on-one time with the trainer was brilliant. I learnt to paint myself like rocks and trees. People can't kill me in the arena if they can't find me! How about you?"

"You won't believe it, I found a weapon I'm actually good at," I couldn't believe how excited I sounded at this.

After lunch, I stuck to my plan and focussed on survival skills. I avoided the fire-starting station, fires just attract attention in the arena, I'd have to rely on other ways to keep warm. I spent a little time at the camouflage station on Peeta's recommendation but it was obvious that it wasn't a skill of mine. For the rest of the day I was at the edible plants station, alongside the redhead girl from district 5. I think she'd spent the whole day here and by now she was an expert. By the end of the training session I'd found talent with a potential weapon and I could identify at least 10 species of fruit and nut to eat in the arena.

I left the training room with a strange feeling. Confidence.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N. Got something from Peeta's point of view in this chapter, especially for all the Peeta fans out there. Please keep the reads and reviews coming, it really gives me motivation to write the next chapter!**

Prim

Despite my confident feeling after training yesterday, I had my first nightmare of the games. I dreamt that I went for the slingshot at the Cornucopia. I killed the redhead girl. And then just as I was about to reach for my weapon, Clove threw one of her knives at me and it severed my hand.

I woke up in a cold sweat, screaming. Just a few moments later there was a knock at my door. Who could it be at this time of the night? When I opened the door, Peeta was stood in the corridor dressed in the same clothes he'd worn at dinner that night.

"Can't sleep?" I ask.

He shook his head, "Nope, haven't been able to since the reaping. I heard you scream so I thought I'd come and see how you were. Have a nightmare?"

I nodded. "Come in, there's no point you standing out there."

I let Peeta in past me and closed the door behind him. I sat down on the bed and he sat beside me, and then the weirdest thing happened. He held my hand. It was different to holding hands in the chariot though, there was actual feeling behind this. I tried to pull away but he gripped my hand tighter.

"Don't panic, Prim. I can't help you if you keep pulling away from me."

"Help me? No-one can help me, not unless they can take away from here. I just want to get in to the arena and get it over and done with."

He scoffed, "Tell me about it, all this waiting around is awful. It just gives you time to think about home. I just can't stop thinking about my family, re-living the last moments I spent with them at the Justice building. Are you the same?"

I hesitated. His voice escalated, "They did come and say goodbye, didn't they?"

I nodded, "My mother did, yes."

"But not Katniss?" I shook my head, and a single tear fell. I couldn't face breaking down in front of Peeta like this. Too late.

"I don't think she was at the reaping, Peeta. She didn't come home from hunting in time to get ready; we assumed she got ready at Gales. But we didn't know for sure, and then when she didn't come to say goodbye… I'm worried about her." Peeta would be lucky to understand a word of what I just said through my sobs.

"I'm sure there's an innocent explanation for that. I wouldn't worry too much, just focus on yourself right now. Anyway, you can probably fit in another 2 hours sleep before breakfast. If you have any more nightmares you know where my room is, I'll be awake anyway."

And with that, he let go of my hand, headed to the door and left.

Peeta

I had to leave the room before Prim could see that the news of Katniss had panicked me as much as it was panicking her. If I knew Katniss, there's no way she would let her little sister head off to the Capitol without saying goodbye. And in hindsight I don't remember seeing Katniss at the reaping either. Which means Prim was right, Katniss wasn't there. Had Gale finally persuaded her that running away was a good idea, or had something bad happened? I had to talk to Haymitch. This problem, its bigger than I can handle.

Knocking on his door at this time was dangerous, I wasn't sure what state he'd be in. Or if he'd even be asleep. Since he'd sobered up recently, he'd been getting less sleep. Maybe the nightmares from his Games had come back now there was no alcohol to keep them at bay. While I lay awake at night I could hear his screams, him pacing up and down the room. A few seconds after knocking, he pulled the door open.

"What the hell are you doing awake at this time? And more importantly, why are you waking me up?"

"I've just been talking to Prim, and I think we have a problem." I answered.

"A bigger problem than your time in the arena?" he joked.

I pushed past him into the room. "Much bigger. It's about her older sister, Katniss."

"The one who can shoot? What about her?"

"Prim just told me that Katniss never came to the Justice centre to say goodbye, we both think that Katniss never turned up for the reaping. She goes outside the boundaries of 12 to hunt with her friend Gale, but they never came back from hunting on the morning of reaping day. I think they've run away together."

"And you're worried because it's affecting the little girls performance?"

"No, Haymitch, I'm worried that the Capitol are going to get revenge by targeting us both in the arena."

His facial expression had changed and from that I could tell that my suspicions were correct. Whatever decision Katniss had made that morning, has just shattered any chance that either of us had in the arena. There's no way that the game-makers will allow a victor from district 12, it would show nothing but leniency to rebels.

"OK, here's the plan. You're going to go back to bed. You're going to train tomorrow as normal. You're going to pretend to the little girl that everything is ok. I got some half decent tributes this year, there's no-way I'm going to let the Capitol mess up any chances you have for something that's out of your control. You have to trust me on this, I can sort it out.."

I took my cue to leave, returning to my own room. I only left my room to check on Prim, and suddenly my whole world has changed. What on earth was Katniss thinking running away like that? She must have thought Prim was safe from the reaping, her name was only in once. What would she say now, if she knew the situation that Prim was in? And how that situation could get much worse due to her poor decision? Or rather, her lack of judgement. I've never trusted that Gale, he's always so outspoken about the Capitol, prime candidate for a rebel. Everyone dreams of a rebellion, a world without the Hunger Games. No-one would ever do anything about it.

Until now.

Prim.

Surprisingly I did get back to sleep after Peeta left, because next time I open my eyes, its light outside the window. I spend a long time in the shower, just letting the hot water fall on me as I think about last night. About Katniss. Today is the 2nd day of training, I only have today to practice the skill I am to show the game-makers tomorrow in the individual assessments.

After the shower, I put on my training kit and head down to breakfast. Haymitch and Peeta are huddled together at the table and seem to be in the midst of a heated discussion. Effie is sat at the other end of the table. I aim for the seat next to her, I don't want to interrupt whatever the guys are talking about.

It turns out I'm late for breakfast and only get enough time for 2 croissants and 1 glass of orange juice before Effie ushers us to the training room.

After practicing a few more times with the slingshot, and hitting the target everytime, I decide that will be my skill for tomorrow. For the rest of the morning, I head for the survival skills stations with the least amount of tributes. That means that against my better judgement I learn how to start a fire. I plan never to start one in the arena, but it's a way of keeping myself busy and away from the other tributes.

All morning, I succeed in avoiding all the tributes. I even evade Peeta, who's keeping himself busy at the camouflage station again. However, my plan is foiled at lunch when I get an unexpected visitor to my table, Rue. She doesn't speak to me, just sits opposite me eating her rolls.

"Are you enjoying training?" I think she was shocked when I started to speak to her. She nodded. That was the extent of our conversation during lunch, I couldn't think of anything else to say, and she didn't seem like she wanted to talk. However, before she left the table to resume training she whispered one word in my ear.

"Allies?"

I didn't hesitate to accept her offer, after all, two heads are better than one!

Haymitch

As soon as the boy told me about Katniss Everdeen, the spark of rebellion roared inside me. What their plan is, I can't begin to guess. But escaping from the district is a good start.

"I need to get Plutarch on the phone!" I tell myself. I must be going mad if I'm talking to myself but I don't care.

Plutarch picks up the phone after only 2 rings. He's one of the game-makers so should be over-seeing the training, this year but clearly I've caught him during the lunch break.

"It's Haymitch, get on the phone to President Coin right away. We've got 2 people escaped from district 12 only 3 days ago. One of them is known to be outspoken against the Capitol. The other's sister is a tribute in the Games. They could be the rebel leaders we've been looking for."

"I'm on it. Hopefully a hover plane from Thirteen can get to them before they reach another district."

He hung up. I couldn't help myself getting excited. District 12 would be leading the rebellion against the Capitol.


	7. Chapter 7

**I've stuck to just one character in this chapter so it should be much better than last chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

Katniss

The kiss completely ruined my whole relationship with Gale. I thought I would have pulled away from him, but I found myself lost in it and for some reason I kissed him back. I began to feel his hands in my hair, and in fear of where else his hands could go, I pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I'm not ready for this," I apologised and then ran off into the trees. What on earth just happened? Did Gale pull me away from my family just to do that? He was hoping to change my feelings for him with that kiss, all he's done is made me want to go back to district 12 even more. I didn't feel like I want to be around him anymore. So for the next few hours I sat by the stream we'd swam in earlier, just sitting on a rock with my feet in the water. Once I pushed the incident with Gale to the back of my mind, this was the most relaxed I'd felt in a long time; just listening to the sounds of the birds piercing the silence around me.

The sun was high in the sky, signalling it was early afternoon, when Gale pushed through the trees behind me. "It's getting late in the day, I want to start walking again. Please come with me?"

I could see that he'd bought all our belongings from under the tree, he really was in a hurry to move on. I got up from where I'd been sitting, but my boots back on and walked over to pick up my game bag. Gale picked it up before I could reach it, "Don't worry Catnip, I can carry it for you."

I snapped back at him, "I'm pissed off Gale, not handicapped." I ripped my bag off his shoulder and put it on mine. He giggled, and then headed off in the south direction again so I followed him.

We walked for hours, the heat of the sun was burning down on us the whole time so our pace wasn't as quick as it normally is. We walked the whole way in silence. At sundown we stopped, I climbed a tree to find a comfortable sleeping place and fell asleep, hoping to avoid Gale until the morning.

When the sun rose the next morning, I clambered down the tree to find Gale already awake with a fire going. I mumbled a good morning greeting and then sat down to munch on some of the berries I'd picked yesterday.

"Are you going to be like this the whole time? You really can't ignore me the whole time. Let's just pretend nothing happened, yeah?"

"I can't just pretend that you didn't kiss me. You kissed me, Gale. Why did you have to do that?"

"I had to show you what you mean to me. We've run off together, we're going to spend the rest of our lives out here, together in the woods. I had to know if there was ever a chance that you could love me the way I love you."

I was shocked. "You love me?"

Before Gale could answer there was a loud noise from above us and I could see a hover plane just above us. A net dropped down, enclosing both of us. I reached for Gale's hand but the net swept us up and our hands slipped apart as we were pulled up into the plane. How could the Capitol have found us again? It was all over now, we'd been running for days but they'd finally caught us somehow. In a strange way, I didn't feel as panicked as I should have, hopefully they'd kill us quickly and it would all be over. No more Hunger Games for us, no more running. We could finally be free.

No such luck.

The people in the hover plane looked no more like capitol citizens than I do and none were wearing Peacekeeper uniforms. Instead they were all dressed in the same black military like outfits, with large guns secured around their waists.

"Are you Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen, escapees of district 12?" asked a stern woman. She was petite but her face was hard-looking, she looked like a person of authority.

Gale and I nodded simultaneously.

The woman continued, "I am Alma Coin, President of district thirteen."

"But district 13 was destroyed in the dark days, I've seen the footage on TV!" I interrupted her. This had to be some kind of joke.

"That's what the Capitol want you to think, they replay old video footage taken straight after the bombing. We've started a new life, living underground. Either the Capitol don't know about us or they're keeping well away from us. Either way, we've grown to be as strong as we used to be and now house the headquarters of the rebellion."

It was Gale's turn to interrupt, "Woah hang on, first you tell us that district 13 actually exists and now you're saying that there's a rebellion growing… How have the districts not known about any of this?"

A man sitting to the left of President Coin with the name Boggs embroided on his uniform above the left breast pocket spoke up now. "The rebellion is still a work in progress. We're not sure if the districts will join together and revolt, we need something to happen to spark the riots. We need a suitable leader."

"So where do we fit in? I assume you've come to get us for a reason." I waited for an answer but the plan slowly began to fit into place in my head. "Wait, you think we can lead the rebellion? But how? We're just 2 ordinary people from an outlying district, we won't connect with the other districts."

"You have a strong link to the Hunger Games that we're looking to exploit. Your sister."

Oh God. Prim. Against all odds she'd been reaped. And now she's all alone in the Capitol awaiting her death sentence. Why the hell did I leave, I could have volunteered. I could have saved her if I hadn't been so cowardly and ran away.

"We have reason to believe you may also know the male tribute from your district too, Peeta Mellark."

Oh great, Bread Boy.

Coin continued. "We should be going back to district 13 now, a hover plane can only go un-noticed for so long and we're dangerously close to the boundaries of district 11. I'm sure you have questions for us to answer on the way."

The journey lasted less than an hour. Gale was in a heated discussion with Boggs about the rebellion, this was just what he's always wanted. I just stayed sat in the same position that I'd been in since being pulled into the plane. Poor Prim. She must be so scared about the Games, the only 12 year olds to win have been Careers. What must she think of me, not being there to say goodbye to her in the Justice Centre.

I don't even realise that I've been crying until Gale comes over to wipe the tears falling down my face.

"Don't cry, Catnip. We've been saved from the Capitol, this is the best thing to happen to us. Don't worry about Prim, she's stronger than you think."

Gale took a seat on the floor next to me and placed his arm around me, pulling me in closer until my head rested on his shoulder. I was too exhausted to fight so as we made our descent, I sat in silence cradled in his arms. I felt a small jolt which meant that we'd landed in district 13. The fake light inside the hover plane was replaced by the natural light from the sun as the door opened and the other passengers leave the plane. Gale and I are two of the last to leave, only Boggs is behind us.

The area is derelict. We follow Coin underground and what we find is amazing. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of people down here. There's living quarters for everyone, a large dining hall, a hospital. An entire hospital! My mother would be so excited if she could see this, if she wasn't mourning the loss of 2 daughters.

Gale and I are assigned living quarters in room 207, and we are also given some more clothes. Whoever previously owned them was about my height but slightly bigger than me as they are slightly baggy. The size difference isn't bad and it's just nice to have clean clothes. At lunchtime we follow the other citizens into the dining hall for lunch. We are served grey goo that tastes a little bit like wild mushrooms, and it distinctly lacks fresh meat that I am so used to. Gale and I attract a lot of attention while we eat. They can obviously see that we're new here so lots of people stare at us, but none come to speak to us.

After lunch we are taken to a special command room to meet with President Coin and the rest of the people involved in the rebellion. I find that a few of the people in the room are past victors of the Games, the first person I notice is Finnick Odair from district 4. This thing is bigger than I thought.

Coin begins the meeting, "Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce Soldiers Hawthorne and Everdeen. They are joining our rebellion all the way from district 12. Yes, I know what you're thinking; it's not just coincidence that our new soldier has the surname Everdeen. She's the sister of little Prim in the Hunger Games. We're hoping to use this to get the rebellion started."

Everyone comes up to me, introduced themselves and apologise for what's happening to my sister. If only Prim could see how heartfelt these messages are. I begin to feel comfortable in these surroundings.

My feeling of ease is broken by Coin's next statement. "We believe that the Capitol are going to punish these two for escaping 12 by controlling the games in such a way that both Prim and Peeta die."

The room starts to sway around me and I begin to fall to the ground. Just before I black out I hear Boggs say. "Our mission is to stop this."


	8. Chapter 8

Prim

I am woken up by the Sun glazing through the window, illuminating the whole room. It must be nearing 10 am but Effie hasn't woken me up for training. It is only then that I realise that today is the last training day, the day of the individual assessments. Whatever score I get today can determine my fate in the arena by encouraging people to sponsor me.

Peeta and I will be the last tributes to be assessed, the process begins with district 1 and works through the districts. Before and after the assessment, our time is our own. Effie must have assumed I was taking the morning off, and she was right. Not that I had a plan, I was just going to relax.

I rolled out of bed and padded to the shower. For nearly 30 minutes I stood under the hot water. I pressed every single button on the shower panel and experienced every pressure setting, every temperature of water, and every scent of soap. When I was finally satisfied that I was the cleanest I've ever been, I stepped out of the shower to get dressed. I bypassed my training outfit, save that for later, and instead put on a simple blue dress that I'd found in the wardrobe. It made me feel like a little girl again, I was glad to be out of the training outfit I'd been stuck in.

Since training always began at 10, and it was well past that now, I wondered whether breakfast was still being served in the dining room. I wasn't particularly hungry, but wary of how much smaller than the other tributes I was, and I was aiming to gain some weight before the Games start.

When I leave my room, I run straight into Peeta who is just leaving his room which is opposite mine.

"Going down to breakfast?" I ask him.

He turns round, startled to see me. "Breakfast stops at 10 so if that's where you're headed, I wouldn't bother. You can order food to your room though, or so I've heard."

"Oh, thanks. So if you're not going to the dining room, where are you off to?"

"The roof." The roof? But that seems like such an odd place to spend the morning off. He then adds, "want to join me? The view really is quite spectacular."

"Yeah OK. I'll just order some food, and then we can go."

I run back into my room and order the first item on the menu, the lamb stew. Within minutes, a tub of it appears through a hole in the table and alongside it are some district 12 rolls. Peeta is waiting for me in the hallway and he begins to lead the way to the roof. When we get up there, it's stunning. There is a view of the entire Capitol bathed in sunlight. I sit cross-legged near the edge and open the tub of stew to eat.

"Want some?" I offer some to Peeta. When he nods, I chuck a roll in his direction for him and push the stew tub in between us.

"Have you figured out what to do in the assessment this afternoon?" he asks me. I love this about Peeta, the small talk between us is totally normal and doesn't feel forced.

"Slingshot. It's risky because I haven't practiced it much, but when I have practiced I hit the target every time. I'm not going to get a massive score but anything above a 6 I'll be happy with. You?"

He nods, and waits to finish a mouthful of stew before answering. "Weights. I'm probably better at camouflage but I practiced it so much that it's too predictable."

We finish the stew in silence, using the bread to mop up every last bit. Peeta launches straight into more small talk.

"Have you picked any allies for the arena, or are you going to tackle this thing on your own?"

I'm not sure whether I should tell him about my alliance with Rue, but surely he's already found out from Haymitch and he's just asking to be polite.

"I'm teaming up with Rue. She asked me yesterday at lunch."

He looked genuinely hurt by this. "Oh, OK. I thought maybe you'd want to team up with me. Show them that district 12 is a force to be reckoned with. But Rue's also a good choice."

I wasn't quite sure what to say. Why would he want me? He's strong, fast and actually has a chance to win this. I'd just hold him back.

The only response I can muster is, "Why?"

"Why would I want to be with you? Take this how you want, but I feel quite protective of you Prim."

For some reason this made me angry. "Protective of me? So you didn't really want an alliance, you just wanted to look after me. Well I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."

After the argument with Peeta, I just sat moping in my room until it was time to go down to the training room for assessment. Peeta goes in first, he offers me good luck for mine but I don't return it. Barely 15 minutes later it's my turn. I pick up the slingshot and the 5 rocks of ammunition. My first shot misses the head and hits the shoulder instead. In the arena it would be good enough to make time to run away, but not enough to impress the game-makers. The next 4 all hit the head, with the last two hitting to exact spaces of the eyes. Death shots. I am then dismissed.

I return to the district 12 living quarters with a huge smile on my face. That could not have gone any better! Everyone is waiting for me there; Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia. Peeta is already back and sits in the chair across the room.

I can't wait to tell them all how well that went, so I sit and explain every single one of my shots. Haymitch and Effie are excited; they keep saying that Peeta and I are the best tributes they've had in years. I'm only 12!

As we finish dinner later that evening, we rush to the sofas when we hear the Capitol anthem coming from the TV. Caesar Flickerman presents this programme where each of the scores for the tributes will be revealed. Predictably the 4 career tributes from districts 1 and 2 receive a score of at least 9. The sly girl from district 5 gets a score of 7, I knew she was one to look out for. The others range from 4-7, no real competition there. Thresh from 11 gets a 10, he's built like a career and gets a career-worthy score. Rue gets a 7, a brilliant score for someone so small, let's hope I can match that. But then something happens that takes the whole Capitol by surprise, Peeta and I both get the same score. We both score 1.

Katniss

A 1? Could the Capitol make it any more obvious that they were punishing district 12? Maybe a 12 year old from an outlying district might get a low score, but Peeta was worth at least an 8. He was strong, I'd seen him lifting flour sacks in the market, and he was well fed unlike Prim. Why was the Capitol punishing him, anyway? He has no direct link to me or Gale?

When I'd seen their scores watching the programme in Command, I stormed out of the room in anger. Instead of heading to mine and Gale's living quarters, it would be the first place they looked for me, I headed to the hospital. Maybe some morphling could help with my pain, although I'm not sure it can heal a broken heart.

A few hours later I am woken up by Gale. Somehow I had fallen asleep on one of the hospital beds.

"Boggs and the rest of the soldiers are still in Command, they're trying to come up with a rescue plan. They don't want us involved so they've given us special privileges to keep our minds off it. Down in the Special Weaponry department we've been issued with some weapons and they've allowed us to go out hunting. We have to hand everything we catch to the kitchen, but at least we can get back to doing what we love."

"I don't know what I love anymore, Gale. Only a week ago my life was normal, and now? Now it's all been turned upside down. Prim's in the games, we're in thirteen…"

Gale finished my sentence, "And I kissed you. I know you're still angry about that. I'm sorry. Let's just pretend that it never happened, and let's go shoot some wild dog!"

My bow and arrow from Special Weaponry is amazing. It shoots so much better than the one my dad made me, although it doesn't have the same sentimental value. We are issues with tracking devices, torches and night-vision goggles. We have 2 hours to hunt, and if we're not back within that time, soldier will track us down and this hunting privilege will be removed.

When Gale and I get out into the woods, I take down 3 birds in the first 5 minutes, it feels good be hunting again. Although, every arrow I fire I wish was piercing the heart of President Snow in the Capitol. I want to cause him the same pain he's causing me by what he's doing to Prim. He's so desperate to keep his power. He'll stop at nothing to prove he's in control. He hopes that murdering Prim will be a deterrent to other people wanting to rebel.

Well that backfired. If the district 13 rebels are right, all he's going to have done is spark a rebellion. Exactly what he didn't want.

**A/N. Sorry about this chapter, the next ones will hopefully be better. I've got a bit of writers block!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thank you for so many reviews on the last chapter! Please keep reading!**

Prim

Because of the drama of last night, I didn't feel up to the interview training today. The interviews tomorrow would be horrible, I'd have to face the other tributes, and with such a low score that would be embarrassing. Hopefully Caesar would be nice to me, and the Capitol might sympathise with the poor helpless girl from district 12. But what will Rue say?

At breakfast the mood is tense; no-one feels much like talking. After all, what is there to say? I know I was worth more than the lowest possible score, and I'm sure Peeta was too. I can't think why the game-makers would score us so low, it's almost as if they're punishing us for something.

For training today, I'll begin with Haymitch who'll run through my strategy. After lunch, I'll spend the time with Effie who'll focus on etiquette. Haymitch leads me into the room and sits me down on a chair opposite his.

"So we're sticking with the innocence streak for tonight, I know Rue will be using the same so we need to play it up a bit, Ok sweetheart?"

"Haymitch, do you know why the Game-makers scored us both so low yesterday? 4 out of my 5 shots were on target, that's worth at least a 7! Are they punishing us for something?"

He hesitated. "Oh my God. They are punishing us. I can tell you know something, Haymitch."

After a few minutes he nodded.

"It's your sister."

My heart dropped. Was Katniss OK? This had to be something to do with her missing the reaping.

"She wasn't at the reaping was she? She didn't come to say goodbye. But why are they taking it out on me and not her?"

"She ran away, Prim. Her and Gale never came back from hunting that morning."

Oh, this is worse than I'd thought. I had a feeling that there was something else he knew but decided not to press anymore. For the rest of that morning we work on how to answer questions, acting humble and helpless. After discovering what the Capitol was doing to me, there was a tone of anger in my voice. It took a couple of hours of practicing to sound like my old self, a normal 12 year-old girl. We do some practice interviews and by the end of the morning, I feel confident that I can win the sympathy of some citizens and con them into sponsoring me. My training score won't have encouraged them to part with their money but this just might.

At lunch, Peeta and I sit together, a bit away from our mentor and escort. We discuss the morning's training, it sounds that this afternoon with Effie is going to be hell.

And I'm right.

She gets me to practice my walk so many times. My legs begin to ache after the first hour, but then she introduces high heels. There's no way Cinna would design an outfit where I had to wear these but still she makes me totter about the room in them for at least half an hour.

After that we work on pronunciation, and I practice my smile.

By the end of the session, I'm ready for bed. I'd rather have no training for the interviews, just get it out of the way. But then that would bring the arena a day earlier, and I'm just not ready for it. Instead of meeting the others for dinner, I order food to my room. Sitting on my bed, I eat more of the lamb stew with plums. After finishing one tub I order another, along with slices of cake. In my head I play over the scenario of Katniss and Gale running off into the woods. What was she thinking?

I wondered where they were. They must still be alive; they're both too good at hunting to starve to death. And the weather in district 12 isn't cold enough to cause them any problems. They might have made it to another district by now, to whichever one was closest to us. I giggle as I imagine them fishing in district 4.

Without realising it I fall asleep with the dirty cutlery on my bed, sometime during the night an avox must have come in to clear it because when I wake up the next morning, it's all gone. As soon as I'm awake, I am mobbed by my prep team. I am flung in the shower and cleaned to within an inch of my life. My hair is washed with 5 different types of shampoo and conditioned to smell like roses. While every hair on my body is plucked or waxed, my hair is dried and curled.

The morning passes really quickly and before I know it its lunchtime. After lunch, Cinna comes in to show me my outfit for the interviews. He wants to continue with the fire theme, nicknaming me "The Little Flame." My dress is iridescent. It gives the appearance that I'm glowing, I love it. Like I suspected, the shoes are flat so all that time practicing in heels was wasted.

I spend the afternoon getting my make-up done. It's much heavier eye make-up than I wore for the tribute parade but I still look natural. I've moved away from the braided hair, instead I have curls. I can't decide whether I like this look better than my last one, but Cinna is a genius. Admiring myself in the mirror I forget all about my panic about facing the other tributes. It's not the large crowd that scares me, but the 22 other tributes that are going to be laughing at Peeta and I because of our scores. If only they knew the reason why.

All the tributes take their seats on the stage, I am sat in between Thresh and Peeta making me feel dwarfed. Each of the tributes gets 3 minutes interview with Caesar, and he really works hard to get the most out of those minutes.

The girl from 1 has gone for the sex on a stick angle and it really works for her. Both tributes from 2 come across as violent and bloodthirsty, somehow I know this is not just an act. The girl from 5 remains sly and doesn't give much away. When Caesar calls Rue to the stage, the panic begins to set in because I know it's soon going to be my turn.

Backstage I had felt 22 pairs of eyes staring at Peeta and I, and I found it hard to ignore them. But they aren't the ones I need to impress, it's the public who need to fall in love with me and in around 5 minutes I have to prove that I'm worthy of their sponsorship money.

Thresh's name is called, and I take this as my 3 minute warning. I run over what we covered in training in my head. I must smile from the moment my name is called. I must walk straight and confident. I must sit with a straight back, never slouch. I must pronounce my words properly.

In the midst of this last minute preparation, I barely hear the bell signifying the end of Thresh's interview. Caesar calls my name and I stand to walk over to him. On my way I silently thank Cinna for giving me a short dress, I was bound to have tripped over a long one.

We sit down and wait for the audience cheers to quieten down before starting the interview.

"So, Prim, our youngest contestant this year. How are you enjoying your life in the Capitol?"

Be innocent. Be humble. I can hear Haymitch's voice in my head.

"It's better than I ever imagined. Everything is so different, so much better than district 12." I'm gushing now, and I sound pathetic rather than innocent.

But Caesar plays along, "Hahaha, I bet the food especially is much better. Now, tell me about the reaping. It must have been a shock to be picked when your name can only have been in once or twice."

"I think it's always a shock when a 12 year old gets picked for the reason you just mentioned. I guess the odds just weren't in my favour that day." The audience guffaw at this, enjoying my use of Effie's trademark phrase.

"Indeed they weren't. At the reaping you looked behind you after being chosen. Were you looking for anyone in particular or just hoping for a volunteer?"

Should I mention Katniss, or would that just get me into trouble? I've hesitated too long, I'll have to answer. And I don't have time to lie.

"I was trying to see my sister, I initially thought it was her name they'd read."

"So, your sister, did she come and say goodbye?"

I shook my head. I'd have to tell a little white lie here. "We'd already said our goodbyes at home, neither of us are very good at dealing with emotions so we'd rather do it in private. My mother came, though. It was nice to get a final chance to say goodbye." Now I was really breaking the audience's hearts.

"A final goodbye? Not feeling confident about your chances in the arena, then?"

Now this was my time to shine. "I know that 12 year olds rarely do well, and being from an outlying district that cuts my chances even more. I promised I'd do my best to win, but everyone here looks so strong. I had to say goodbye just in case."

The sigh from the audience was cut off by the bell. Wow, those 3 minutes had gone quickly. And Caesar had been so lovely, I'd almost been able to forget the audience. I could only hope that I'd done enough.

Peeta

I passed Prim making her way back to her seat and I gave her a thumbs up. She'd been brilliant but I was my turn to take centre stage. I shook hands with Caesar before taking a seat.

"So, Peeta, have we saved the best til last here?"

From that one line from Caesar I could tell that this interview would be easy. I could definitely get my personality across here.

"I hope so, Caesar. I'll do my best to give the audience a good show!"

He laughed, "That's all we can hope for! So, tell me, how does the Capitol live up to your expectations?"

"The food is spectacular like I thought it would be, and I never knew it was possible to smell like so many flowers at once!"

"I thought I could smell roses! I've gone for lavender myself tonight." Wow, Caesar and I had built up a great rapport.

He continued, "So who have you got at home cheering you on?"

"Just my family. They came to wish me good luck after the reaping and I miss them loads. My friends will be cheering me on too."

"No special lady at home though?" This was getting quite personal now, out of my comfort zone.

"Haha, unfortunately not."

"Oh come on. You're a handsome lad; there must be someone you've got your eye on."

Oh fine, I give up. Time to give them a show.

"Well there is one girl, but I don't think she feels the same way."

"Rotten luck. But here's a plan. Win the Games and when you get back I'm sure she'll notice you."

My face dropped. "Unfortunately I don't think that plan is going to help me. Because I came here with her sister."

Heart-breaking silence.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N. Thanks for reading!**

Katniss

What did he just say? I can't be the girl he's referring to, we've never even spoken! And suddenly he's dropped that bombshell for the whole of the Capitol to enjoy. I bloody hope this is just some elaborate tactic for the games.

Oh the irony, just a few days ago I'd been quite content on my own and now I had 2 guys declaring their love for me. Any other girl would love all the attention but I'm not a normal girl. I glance over at Gale and to say he looks mad is an understatement. If Peeta was in this room right now I'd fear for his life, Gale looks murderous. He has no right to be jealous, one kiss doesn't make me his. Although I can't deny there was some small part of me that just assumed that Gale and I would be together forever. He was the only guy I'd ever got close to. And suddenly Peeta had gone and thrown a spanner in the works. And although I don't know him as well as Gale, I'll always owe him for the bread.

As I try and compose myself, I notice that everyone in Command is staring at me. I'm beginning to feel scrutinized as if I myself was in the Hunger Games interview.

"Did you know about this?" Coin asked.

I shook my head. "This shocked me as much as it did you. I honestly had no idea."

"Well the good news is, this can work in our favour. You now have a strong link to both tributes, we can really use this. We need you to spearhead this rebellion."

What on earth had happened to my life? I made one mistake by running away from district 2 and suddenly I'm the poster girl for a full scale rebellion. The future of Panem is a weight on my shoulder and not one that I want to bare. I know Gale is itching to get his hands on a weapon and take to the streets of the Capitol, but I'm not. Instead, I'd like the engineers in district 13 to build a time machine to take me back to the day of the reaping. That way I could volunteer for Prim, and this rebellion would never happen.

Again, it feels as if all eyes are on me. I realise they are waiting for my reply.

"I'm sorry, I can't be who you want me to be." With that I left the room and headed straight down to Special Defence. Ironic that after saying I wasn't willing to fight there I was firing arrows and moving targets. But there's a huge difference between hunting animals and humans. Killing animals for food is a natural process, humans are the top of the food chain. But a human killing another in cold blood is both immoral and illegal. Or is it? It's exactly what the Captiol will be watching as reality TV from tomorrow, when the tributes enter the arena. When my little Prim enters the arena.

Instead of breaking down at this point, more anger floods my veins, and I find myself firing more arrows. I feel much better taking my anger out on these plastic dummies rather than on real people. At least this way no-one gets hurt. For over an hour I fire rounds of arrows into the dummies in front of me. After a while I begin to alter the distance, trying both long range and point blank shots. When I've mastered those, I mess around and try shooting with my weaker hand. I hold the bow in my right hand instead of my left. My precision is poor to start with but eventually I begin to hit the target.

The door clicks open behind me and I see Gale entering the room. Although I'm not in the mood to discuss anything rebellion related, I can't wait to show Gale my new skills.

"Please don't talk to me about what just happened in Command. Just shoot with me for a while, keep me distracted." I can see that Gale is disappointed with this, that he wanted to talk. But he takes a bow from the cabinet behind us and gets ready to shoot. We spend the rest of the evening shooting, no-one comes to disturb us. I laugh at Gale when it turns out he can't shoot with his weaker hand as well as I can. We decide that tomorrow we must go hunting again; apparently the meat we supplied last time is nearly all gone. For the first time in a long time, my life feels completely normal. I forget about Prim, about Peeta, and about the rebellion. As far as I'm concerned it's just like a normal Sunday afternoon.

Around 10 pm, Boggs comes to tell us that Special Defence must be locked for the night and that we must return to our living quarters. We have missed dinner, but I'm not hungry anyway. Thankfully Boggs doesn't say anything else as he escorts us out, Gale and I return to compartment 207 alone and in silence.

The silence doesn't last for long.

"How dare he? He barely knows you." I don't want to talk about Peeta with Gale but I'm too tired to object to Gale steering the conversation in this direction.

"He's entitled to his feelings, Gale. It doesn't mean I feel the same way."

"He can pine for you as much as he wants, but there's no need to broadcast it on live TV, especially not to the Capitol."

"For all I know, this could all be fake. It might just be his strategy."

"I doubt it. I've seen the way he looks at you. And I can't doubt his taste in women."

I scowl, "Please don't go there, Gale. I'm not ready to be involved in a love triangle."

And Gale then came up with the most unhelpful solution to that, "There's no need for a love triangle. Just choose between us."

"How can you do this to me? First you bombard me with a kiss, and now you want me to commit to you?

"No, Catnip, I don't want you to commit. I just want to know that the last 3 years hunting together mean more to you than some unknown baker's son who's likely to be dead in a few days."

Harsh words there. And oddly the thought of Peeta dying brings tears to my eyes. Even though for Prim to stay alive, he must die. I honestly don't know how to answer Gale.

"You know how much I love hunting with you Gale." Oh god that sounded pathetic, sounded like I was breaking up with him. "I love spending time with you" is almost as bad as "It's not you, it's me." The expression on Gale's face shows how furious he is with that response so I continue. "The situation with Peeta is confusing. I don't know how to explain it, but I care a lot about him."

Gale scoffs, "Care about him? You can't care about someone you don't know. Or is there something else you're not telling me? Have you known about his feelings all along?"

How can Gale be accusing me of this? He knows how shocked I was at Peeta's revelation. He also knows that Peeta means more to me than I'm letting on. So I recount the story of the bread. How I was at death's door because of starvation and how Peeta threw me the burnt bread from the bakery.

"So you choose him over me because he gave you some bread?"

"He saved my life, Gale. And Prim's life too. I haven't chosen him over you, but rejecting him makes me ungrateful."

And so the argument went on until the early hours of the morning. Gale's argument was that Peeta would be dead soon and giving my heart to a man on death row would be ridiculous. I could see his point, neither Prim nor Peeta were strong enough to win the Games ahead of the Careers, especially since their training scores will have scared away any sponsors. Gale was a safe choice. He'd always be there for me, and when we were together I was happy. But there's a difference between being happy and being in love.

Prim

Peeta loves Katniss? I had no idea; I've always assumed that she'd end up with Gale, even more so now they've run away together. Peeta's going to be heartbroken if he gets home and finds out that she's not there. That's IF he gets home.

After the interviews all the hype is about Peeta. I slip unnoticed away from the crowds to find Rue. I'm still in my innocent 12 year old mind-set and can't stand to be around adults right now. I find her by the lifts waiting to go up to floor 11, and we get in the lift together. The ride is short and we don't get a chance to say much. Just before we reach the 11th floor I say, "So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"You'll have to catch me first"

"What's that supposed to mean? I thought we were allies?"

She shakes her head and I can feel tears threatening to fall.

"If this is about my training score, I'm sorry. I thought I'd done really well."

"I know about your sister, Prim. Haymitch told my mentor about it and I've been warned to stay away from you. It's nothing personal but if the Capitol is punishing you for her mistakes, I can't be involved in that. I don't need them ruining my chances in the arena; my chances of winning are already slim. I'm sorry."

Her apology is the last thing I hear as she exits the lift and the doors shut behind her. I'm shell-shocked at this turn of events. It seems to be a night for dropping bombshells.

I guess I should find Peeta and see if the offer of an alliance still stands.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N. Getting some lovely reviews on this story, means a lot that you're enjoying it. I'll try and keep the updates coming!**

**Remember: I do not own the hunger games.**

Prim

For obvious reasons sleep evades me that night. My mind plays over Rue's rejection, anger boils up in side of me at what the Capitol has done to me. I didn't manage to find Peeta in the crowds so currently I'm tackling this alone. I wonder what the arena will be like. Jungle? Desert? Ocean? Maybe a mixture of all three, I wouldn't put it past the Capitol. Hour by hour the night passes excruciatingly slowly, but eventually the morning light creeps in through a crack in the curtains. Since this could be my last chance, I jump in the shower and was thoroughly. When I come out a simple tracksuit has been delivered and was lying on my bed with a note:

Cinna left this for you. Put it on then meet me by the lifts. Haymitch.

I follow the instructions. Barely 5 minutes later I am dressed in the tracksuit and my hair is braided, although the braids aren't as good as when mother does them. Haymitch and Effie are by the lifts, they will both escort me to the roof but then we have to say our last goodbyes. The lift ascends to the roof with us in silence, when we reach the top floor the doors open to let the sun come flooding in. I can see the hover plane that's waiting to take us to the arena.

The goodbyes are hard. Both of them thank me for being such a brave girl through this entire trauma. They wish me the best of luck in the arena. It's hard because all 3 of us know that this is the last time we'll see each other, we all know that I don't stand a chance of coming out of the arena alive.

"Good luck sweetheart, we'll be cheering for you all the way." It's not the most heartfelt goodbye ever but it's the best I could have hoped for from Haymitch. Effie goes into a full scale meltdown; she sobs and pulls me into a bear hug. In my head I imagine that it's Katniss that I'm hugging, but that just makes me want to cry even more. The last thing I need is to let the other tributes see me like this.

When I can't bear the hug any longer I pull away. "Thank you, both of you, for giving me my best chance of winning. I'll do my best for you. Goodbye." With that I turn my back on the people I've come to trust and head over to the hover plane. I am strapped into a seat, possibly the worst seat in the plane, directly opposite Clove. Although she's not much older than me, she looks at me with so much venom in her eyes. It's almost as if I'm being targeted as her first kill in the arena.

A woman comes round to insert a tracking device under the skin on my arm. I've always hated needles, but with my enemies watching me I have to grin and bear it. The pain is excruciating for that split second but I'm sure that whatever death awaits me in the arena (probably at the hands of Clove) will be infinitely more painful. I have no idea how long the ride to the arena is going to be, but when the windows black out I know that we can't be far off. The location and the terrain of the arena must be kept secret from all tributes until the moment they see it from their podiums.

Once the plane lands I am led through the catacombs to my preparation where a familiar face waits for me. Cinna. Without hesitation, I don't care who's watching me now, I run into his arms. During my time in the Capitol I have started to think of Cinna as a friend. Apart from Haymitch, he's the only person who hasn't been revelling in my fate. Effie and my prep team, being typical Capitol citizens, congratulated me on the honour of being chosen.

Cinna gestures to a pile of clothes which I can only assume are my arena clothes. There's a plain pair of cargo trousers in khaki green, perfect colour for camouflage. Coupled with a black vest top there is a black jacket. The material is thin but Cinna tells me that it will be well insulated.

Totally unembarrassed about my body I strip off the tracksuit and change into the assigned outfit. Just in time too, because there's a message giving the 2 minute warning. For last minute preparation I drink an entire glass of water, as I don't know when fresh water will be available next.

At the 1 minute warning I step into the plastic tube that will take my up into the arena. Cinna gives me a last minute hug and some words of encouragement. "Good luck, Little Flame. Go out there and do me proud. I've designed the most amazing victory dress for you and I'd hate for it to go to waste." Good old Cinna, always manages to put a smile on my face, whatever the situation. At the 10 second countdown the plastic tube closes and the panic begins to set in.

3, 2, 1.

"Ladies and Gentelmen, let the 74th annual Hunger Games begin!"

The tube escorts me up into the blinding light and I get my first sight of the arena. In the 60 seconds that we have to wait for the gong, I take in my surroundings. The golden horn that is the cornucopia lies in front of me, with all the tributes equidistant from the bounty. To the left of the cornucopia is a dense forest and to the right a sparse grassy area. Behind the cornucopia is a great lake, it's completely in the open so I hope it's not the only water source. I'm aware of the countdown, 30 seconds to go. I turn my attention to the tributes around me. Peeta is directly opposite me, I see the game-makers have arranged it so that we are as far away from each other as possible. Standard. Clove is 2 podiums to my right, Cato 2 podiums to my left. Trapping me in between the most ruthless Careers, could the Game-makers be any more obvious?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The gong sounds and all 24 tributes jump from their podiums, some race away from the Cornucopia while most run towards the bounty. I grab a rucksack that was laying a few yards from my platform then sprint as fast as I can away from the bloodbath before the Careers get me. I heave a sigh of relief after taking cover under the dense trees; I feel that I'm safe for now. I make it my priority to take shelter in a tree and look over what I collected. After 10 minutes jogging, I find a suitable tree that I think is far enough from the cornucopia to keep me out of danger. Being small and light means that I climb the tree easily and find a fork about ¾ of the way up that I settle myself in.

Inside the bag I find; a length of rope, a box of matches, an empty plastic bottle and a small blanket. It's not much but it's better than nothing. When I finally find a water source the bottle will be invaluable. The blanket will be useful if the temperature drops at night. And I'm sure I'll find a use for the other 2 items.

The next 2 jobs on my checklist are finding water and finding Peeta. At the moment I'm not concerned which I find first, but I know as the days go on, water will become a priority. Hopefully Peeta might have found water, in which case, I could kill two birds with one stone. I can only hope that the fighting is still going on, and that I'm far enough away not to run into any tributes. Without a weapon I'd be helpless.

I scaled down the tree and headed further into the trees, the same direction I'd come from. I trod carefully; if I made as little noise as possible then hopefully I could hear the footsteps of any approaching tributes. I walked for what seemed like ages, but of course time means very little in the arena. I wondered how big the arena was, was it possible to walk to the edge? I'd never seen it done before but I hadn't watched all the footage from every Games.

A loud noise startles me, then I realise it's the noise of a canon. The bloodbath has obviously ended; I count the canon fires to see how many tributes have fallen. Eleven. That means 13 of us still stand, I won't know if Peeta is one of them until the faces of the fallen are shown in the sky tonight. Now that there's no action at the Cornucopia to keep them occupied, the surviving tributes will be making their way around the arena. They could even be approaching me. I start to feel unsafe out in the open, so hurry to find a tree I can shelter in.

Thanks to my 6th sense, I barely make it halfway up the tree before I can hear footsteps. They aren't heavy so I can safely say it's not the Careers. I must have walked a fair distance from the cornucopia so whoever is approaching probably wasn't involved in the bloodbath, they wouldn't have had time to walk all this way. I didn't really pay attention to who else scarpered from the Cornucopia straight away but I can hazard a few guesses. Rue would have run away. The fox-faced girl from 5, probably. The boy from 10 with the bad leg, if he had any sense he'd run too. But with his leg, would he have walked this far? Could it be Peeta approaching me? Luck hasn't been on my side recently so I'd guess not.

The footsteps get nearer and nearer, my heart beats faster and faster.

The tribute is right underneath my tree.

"Hello, Prim."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I CAN'T STOP WRITING! Thank you so much for all the reads and reviews, I'll try and update new chapters as quick as I can for you all!**

**I do not own the Hunger Games.**

Prim

Oh God, it's her, the girl from 5. I'm not sure if I've heard her name and forgotten it, or was just never told her name, but in my head I've been calling her Foxface. Anyway, now's not the time to be having these thoughts, she's here to kill me. And there's nothing I can do to stop her.

"I said hello. Aren't you going to come down and say hi?"

"No, thanks. I'm OK up here in my tree."

"Don't you trust me?" What a stupid question? Of course I don't trust her; you can't trust anyone in here. Even in an alliance there's no trust; anyone can turn on you in here, even someone you considered a friend.

I don't bother answering her question. There's a moment of awkward silence between us where neither knows what to say. We've reached a standoff, and I begin to wish that she'd just hurry up and kill me, get it over and done with. I think she begins to see the fear in my eyes.

"I'm not going to kill you Prim; I think Clove has demanded she gets that honour if it comes to it. My mentor told me to help you as much as I can, so I've come to bring you a gift. I want to give you this." My eyes grow wider with excitement as I see the slingshot she puts on the ground. "I stole it from the Career's pile of weapons at the Cornucopia while they were busy in the bloodbath. I know it's your weapon of choice. Maybe this will prove that you can trust me."

That final line hit me like a dagger; I'd been so rude to her when all along she's been trying to help me. I clambered down the tree to retrieve my new weapon, I wanted to thank her but when I looked around she was nowhere to be seen. While I was grateful for the weapon, I couldn't help but notice that there was no ammunition with the weapon. I guess that would have to become the top of my to-do-list, so I packed up my belongings into the rucksack and headed off.

While I walked my head was full of thought. Why had Foxface's mentor told her to help me? What alliances had Haymitch arranged behind my back? And who else in this arena could I trust? I finally stumbled across some rocks that would have to do for ammunition; some were a little small but would still do sufficient damage. Now I was equipped with a weapon, I began to relax a bit. I now felt that I wouldn't have to be trapped in a tree, hiding all the time. I could focus on finding Peeta, finding a water source, and come to think of it I should probably find food too. I can't remember the last time I ate anything; and I really need to keep my strength up, the Careers will have a pile of food to keep them going.

Of my 3 things to find, food was the easiest. Bushes of berries were dotted throughout the arena, although not all were edible. I cast my mind back to the edible plants stand at the training centre, I'd learnt at least 10 berries and nuts and could only hope that I could easily recognise them in here. The first bush I found grew round red berries, I was around 75% sure that they were edible but I decided not to risk it. I wasn't starving yet and I'd rather wait until I found berries that I was 100% sure were safe.

I wandered through the forest for what felt like forever. I had no luck in finding water, or finding Peeta, but I did find a bush full of berries that I felt confident wouldn't kill me. I spent a long time picking the fruit, storing them in a side pocket of my bag. I popped a few in my mouth to test them. They were sweet and juicy, quenching my thirst slightly. Definitely the best I could hope for until I find water.

The daylight began to fade, either night was falling or the Game-makers were already bored enough to start playing around with the arena. Hopefully the 11 deaths at the Cornucopia would keep them happy enough over-night. With darkness threatening, I conceded that I wasn't going to be able to walk much further tonight so decided to find a suitable tree to sleep in. There was a large Willow tree not far with a large branch just over half-way up. Not as comfortable as my bed back in the Capitol but it would have to do.

Katniss

Shortly after we are shown the footage of Prim settling in for the night the Capitol anthem starts to play. The surviving tributes in the arena will just be shown the faces of the dead, but the lucky viewers at home get to see full coverage of each killing. Most of the killings, nearly all in fact, are at the hands of the Careers. District 2 this year are looking particularly lethal, especially the girl with her throwing knives. She alone takes down 4 of the 11 dead. When one of her knives lodges into the skull of the district 4 boy, everyone is shocked. Traditionally district 4 is a Career district and their tributes nearly always make it through the first day. I look at Finnick Odair who sits opposite me, obviously he won for district 4 not long ago. All the colour is drained from his face, and he looks like he's going to be sick. I suddenly wonder why he's not in the Capitol acting as a mentor.

Finnick looks up and realises that all eyes are on him. His knuckles are white, he's gripping on to the arms of the chair so tight. "I knew that boy. There's someone back at home who means a lot to me, that was her brother. I couldn't bear to have his life in my hands, so I trusted the mentor who bought me home alive to do the same with him."

He excused himself from the room and we focussed our attention back onto the screen. We re-joined the footage at the death of the girl from district 6. Her death could have been avoided, if only she'd not been so stupid. She challenged the careers for one of their weapons, the weapon which eventually took her life. The boy from the same district followed, and then both tributes from 7.

Obviously Prim is alive, thank god, because we've just seen her in the tree. But what about Peeta? I was so preoccupied following Prim's movements that I didn't see what happened to him at the Cornucopia, and he hasn't featured at all in the Capitol footage. I begin to fear for him, could the boy with the bread be lost forever? I am surprised by how much this thought saddens me. Yesterday the thought that he could be dead in a few days was painful enough, but the thought that he had already been taken from me was heart-breaking.

They show the girl from district 10 being killed by the most beautiful bow and arrow I've ever seen. Unfortunately the bow is not in my possession but the hands of a Career called Glimmer, an inappropriately sparkly name for someone so vicious. After her the video montage of the deaths finishes. Oh thank God, Peeta is still alive. Relief runs through me and it feels as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Both Peeta and Prim still alive after the first day, this is some kind of miracle. Normally both district 12 tributes are killed in the bloodbath, but not this year. The Capitol must be infuriated. I can see Gale tense up when he realises that Peeta is alive, I hope he didn't notice my relief.

The Capitol anthem finishes and before the TV coverage returns live to the arena to get the reactions of the tributes, as a final sign off they show a full list of the dead. Of course they aren't brave enough to show the names, no, they are listed only by district number and sex. The full list is:

D3- Female

D4- Male

D5- Male

D6- Female

D6- Male

D7- Female

D7- Male

D8- Male

D9- Female

D9- Male

D10- Female

President Coin turns off the TV and for a short while we sit in silence. A few of the other Victors excuse themselves to go and find Finnick. In my joy of realising that both Prim and Peeta are alive, I have totally forgotten the misfortune of Finnick. Tonight there will be 11 families across Panem mourning the loss of a loved one. I feel sick at the thought that this time tomorrow, I could be in their position.

Something has to be done.

Prim

I heave a sigh of relief when it is revealed that Peeta is alive. Mother will feel the same when she sees that I have survived the first day. I wonder if Katniss is able to watch any of the Games, or if she's still in the woods. She could be living like me, sleeping in a tree at night with only berries to eat. I wonder how much time I've been on screen for. It's safe to say that the Capitol won't have shown my visit from Foxface. If mentors have been telling their tributes to help Peeta and me, it's some kind of mini-rebellion against the Capitol, and that's the last thing they'd want the public to see.

Obviously the bloodbath will have dominated the TV footage today, and I imagine that the Careers will have featured heavily as they obviously provide the most entertainment. I will obviously have featured at some point; they always show a little bit of all the surviving tributes. Speaking of which, who's left?

Obviously Peeta and I. The 4 Careers. Foxface. Thresh and Rue. I can't think who else is left, and I'm suddenly overcome by fatigue. I've had a day full of a rollercoaster of emotions, and I've done a lot of running. As I drift off into a sleep that is bound to be disturbed, I wonder how everyone else will be spending their nights. I have no idea where Peeta is; he's probably painted himself like a tree and could be hiding anywhere. The Careers have most likely set up camp at the Cornucopia, 3 of them sleeping while 1 stands guard, mainly to protect their bounty. Thresh and Foxface could be anywhere, although not the smallest people in the Games they seem to be the kind of people that aren't easy to find.

And Rue, well she could be anywhere. She's probably safe in a tree like me. We're doing our best to prove that 12 year olds from outlying districts can't be counted out.

As horrible as it sounds, I hope that there are a couple of deaths tomorrow, if only to keep the Game-makers at bay. Because as soon as they start interfering, I know I'll be their main target, and even my slingshot won't be able to help.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter! Writing this is getting scary because I'm going to have to start killing off major characters that people like. Please keep reading and reviewing!**

Prim

There were no deaths overnight, I'm sure that the sound of the canon would have woken me up. Maybe everyone had hidden themselves far away from each other, and hidden well, so that they could not easily be found. Maybe the Careers decided to get a good night's sleep in order to do some serious hunting today. The thought of that sent a shiver down my spine.

I had no idea what time it was, no idea how long I'd slept for. In the silence of the night the sounds of the cameras filled the air, although I doubt they captured anything particularly interesting.

I've been rather comfortable in my tree, more comfy than I thought, and it takes a lot of effort to pack up my things and leave. I could quite easily have spent the whole day in my tree, it's where I felt safest, but water isn't going to find me. The signs of dehydration will kick in by mid-afternoon; the fatigue will hit my muscles, I will start hallucinating, my urine will become darker. Every year there are people in the Games whose lives are taken by natural causes rather than another tribute. Dehydration and exhaustion are common, along with poisoning from berries. There was one year where the arena was covered in snow; around half the tributes froze to death and the victor was crowned in just a few days.

So I climb down from my tree, slingshot ready in my hand, unsure of which direction to head in. I walked in the same direction yesterday and found nothing. I didn't want to walk the opposite direction because that would take me back towards the cornucopia, and if there was anything useful there I'd have seen it yesterday. So that left me two options, turning either left or right from my tree and walking that way. Those footpaths were narrower, and I hoped that meant the tributes were less likely to walk that way.

On a random decision I chose to turn left, no idea why but just felt like the right decision. With my backpack on, some berries to munch on in my pocket, and slingshot in my hand I started a trek underneath the burning sun. I wondered if Haymitch had secured me any sponsors. If I got desperate, would my sponsors use their money to buy me water?

The sun was beating down on me, piercing through the roof of trees above me, and I began to sweat. With the arena this hot, I'd need to find water urgently. At this rate, I'd fatigue so quickly that I might not be able to climb a tree this evening, meaning that I'd be a prime target. Either way, by morning I'd be dead.

I suddenly became aware of a sound "psssssst". I looked around me but I couldn't see anyone. "Prim, I'm up here." It had to be Rue. "Keep following my voice, you'll find me in a tree." Definitely Rue. I walked in the direction that her voice came from, looked up and found her perched on a branch. Unlike when I crossed paths with Foxface, the thought of this being a trap didn't cross my mind as I began to climb up to her. Because we're both the youngest tributes I'd assumed that even though our alliance had fallen through, we'd still not be the ones to kill each other.

The dehydration was showing and my muscles ached as I climbed. At one point I nearly fell because my arms refused to grip the branch like my brain demanded. Rue's branch was only halfway up but I felt like I was climbing a mountain.

"Hey," I said when I finally reached her.

"Hey," she replied.

"I thought you wanted to stay away from me." Not that I wasn't glad for the company but confused at the sudden change of heart.

"That was a little bit harsh. You can't help what's happened to you, I can't punish you for that. I still want to help you, even if we're not allies." I notice that she hasn't mentioned that "what's happened to me" is the Capitol doing everything in their power to stop me winning. She hasn't blamed the Capitol, hasn't mentioned them at all. I wonder whether the Game-makers will still have averted the cameras away from us, just in case.

"Thanks, Rue, it means a lot. How have you been coping?"

"Not too bad, was a bit cold last night but it was bearable. At least I've got food and water."

"You've got water? That's the one thing I'm desperately trying to find. Where is it?" Just at the thought of water my heart skipped a beat.

"I've got a flask that's half full, drink it if you want and then I can take you to the stream to fill it up."

She passed me a small flask, something she'd obviously picked up from the cornucopia. I poured the entire contents into my mouth. I'd never been so grateful for water in my life. I could almost feel my muscles sighing with relief. I'd owe Rue so much, she'd practically saved my life with this water. And not only had she let me finish her flask of water, she was also going to take me to the water source.

We climbed down the tree, me first and then Rue after. I was the one with the weapon so it made sense.

"It's about 5 minutes' walk this way." We walked for 5 minutes; the heat of the sun didn't bother me because I knew that at the end of this journey there'd be water. It was only a small stream, barely enough to paddle in, but enough to fill a water bottle! Rue filled hers up and waited patiently for me. I filled mine up, but then drank half, so had to fill it up again. You'd think I'd never tasted water before or that it tasted amazing and couldn't stop drinking it. I didn't want to leave the water.

Suddenly there was a boom of canon fire, another tribute gone, and it sounded close to us. I looked around and saw Rue already climbing up a tree, damn she's quick. I grabbed my bottle, screwed the lid on as quickly as I could and ran for a tree. I had barely made it to a halfway branch when the pack of 4 careers came crashing through the bushes just metres where we'd been standing not long ago. It was the first time I'd seen them as a pack, complete with weapons. Glimmer had a bow and arrows, Katniss would have been so jealous. Marvel, her district partner, had a spear. Cato had a sword and a couple of small daggers attached to his belt. And obviously Clove was equipped with her throwing knives, and she never misses.

"There's no-one here. Let's go back to camp, I hate leaving that runt from district 3 in charge," it was Glimmer that spoke.

"No! I was told they were around here. We're not going back until I've found her and kill her." Just her voice sends fear through my veins. Clove's had it in for me for a long time and I don't know why.

Anyway, who told them we'd be here? No other tributes know where we are, so who? There's only one other source of information; the Capitol.

Seneca Crane – 1 hour earlier.

President Snow was taking things too far. I hated to send that silver Parachute to Clove, but it was my order, and you don't disobey orders. President Snow himself had provided the sponsorship money to send her the arena map and a compass. I had a sneaky peek at the personal note attached; map co-ordinates. Nothing like this had ever been done; I desperately wanted to know why Snow was so determined to kill the little girl.

I watched the screen, secretly willing both Prim and Rue to escape. I'd seen Rue in training; I knew she could hop from tree to tree like a bird, but Prim had only shown promise with a slingshot and she couldn't take down all 4 Careers single-handedly. Rue was already out of danger, she had already moved 4 trees away from where she'd started. Prim finally noticed the proximity of other trees and climbed from branch to branch. She moved to the next tree, she wasn't as graceful or as quick as Rue but it was good enough to keep her moving away from danger.

The Careers began checking the trees, Clove herself checked the tree where Prim had been barely 2 minutes ago, but she was now 2 trees away hidden out of reach. The search went on for another 10 minutes; until both district 1 tributes began to get bored of the wild-goose-chase. Clove went on searching frantically, refusing to accept that two 12 year olds had escaped. The wrath in her eyes scared even me, but it would be nothing compared to the fury of President Snow when I tell him that his plan has failed.

I left the comfort of my office and went to find the President to deliver the bad news. My palms were sweating because although it wasn't my fault the girls had escaped, I knew he's find some way to hold me responsible.

Not long after I knocked on his door, President Snow answered and invited me in.

"Is she dead?"

"Not quite, Sir, no."

"Not quite? That means she's still alive then. How could you let that happen?"

"I'm sorry, sir, they got away. There was nothing I could do."

"Take a seat, Seneca." Oh that's not good.

I took a seat across the room from where President Snow was sat on the sofa. Behind his snake-like eyes I could see that he was forming another plan. His plans had never backfired. But the girl he was trying to humiliate had ended up humiliating him.

When I was finally seated he continued. "Tell me, Seneca, what is snow made of?"

"Well I've never actually experienced snow myself but I believe its frozen water."

"Correct. Now tell me, what is commonly used to put out a fire?"

"Water." I could begin to see where this discussion was going.

"Very good. If in reality snow can put out a fire, help me make my dreams and reality the same. I, President Snow, am going to extinguish this Little Flame."


	14. Chapter 14

Katniss

"She's still alive, Catnip." I breathed a sigh of relief.

I'd spent the whole morning in Command watching the coverage of the Games. Watching Prim on the hunt for water was so hard. She looked broken, the signs of dehydration showing. I was willing her to push on; I could see the small stream ahead of her. It looked no more than 30 minutes' walk from the tree she'd woken up in. The coverage moved away from Prim just after she'd met Rue. I saw Prim disappearing up into the tree and then the cameras showed the Career pack instead. They received a silver parachute, a gift from their sponsors. It looked to be a map of the arena, an invaluable gift from generous sponsors. They gathered their weapons immediately and set of, obviously desperate to test their new present.

When I saw Prim with Rue at the stream I was ecstatic. She'd got food and water, so as long as she could hide well, she could survive for longer. The canon fire signalling the death of the boy from 10, again at the hands of Clove, was a warning sign. I then realised that the Careers were headed right for Prim. No-one escapes from the Careers. I left the room immediately, I couldn't be expected to sit and watch my little sister get murdered, watch the life leave her eyes and hear the boom of her canon.

"She got away?" I sound pathetic, and I'm embarrassed to be that way in front of Gale. He's never seen me vulnerable, just the hunter girl shooting innocent animals as a means to survive.

"Looked like she'd been taking lessons from Rue, she hopped from tree to tree. The careers gave up eventually; she lives to fight another day." I pull Gale in to a hug, thankful that he was the one to come and deliver this good news. He reciprocates by pulling my hand into his, and I'm too exhausted to pull away. So we sit, cradled in each other's arms and holding hands, until Coin sends out a search party for us.

It's Boggs that finds us, "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting." He's taken aback by my intimacy with Gale, especially since I am supposed to be in love with Peeta. Immediately I pull away from Gale, feeling guilty even though nothing has happened. I blush and begin fiddling with my hair, I know this makes me look even more guilty but I can't help it. "Gale just came to tell me about Prim."

"Yes, the little girl is still alive. You must be so happy." I nod in agreement. "We're currently investigating who exactly told the Careers the location. We have analysts looking and full footage from every arena camera, data that was provided by an insider."

"You have people inside the Capitol working for you?"

"Oh yes, Ms Everdeen, in positions higher than you could imagine. But that's not enough to start a takeover. We first need the districts on our side to isolate the Capitol. Then we need armies, trained to fight the Peacekeeper armies."

My heart skips a beat. There's no way all of that can be done in time before the Games come to a close. I thought the revolution would be a way to save Prim, and Peeta of course.

"Why haven't you sent people out to the districts? Get them to persuade the people that a rebellion is the right thing to do?" Gale interjects. He's desperate to be involved in the rebellion, I wonder if he's offering to go back to district 12 for that job.

"We do have insiders in most of the districts, but not for the reason you suggest. We need to know the feelings of people, that way we know when to strike. There is unrest in a few of the districts already, mainly fuelled by Peeta's declaration the other night."

"There are uprisings? Which districts? And why haven't you made your move already?" I bombard Boggs with so many questions. News of the uprisings is a sign that people are finally tired of being controlled by the Capitol, the first sign that this rebellion might have a chance of succeeding.

"Unrest is not the same as uprisings. People have not yet turned on the Capitol but they are definitely growing tired of the lack of freedom. I doubt it will be long until those districts stage full blown uprising though. Enough of this, I have given too much away, I only came to see you were OK." He checks his watch, "It's almost time for dinner. See you later." Boggs strides off down the corridor and leaves me alone with Gale again.

"Do you really think a revolution will happen?" I ask Gale. Only in my wildest dreams has there been a world with no Capitol and no Hunger Games, but the thought of a revolution scares me. Even scarier is the thought of what might happen to us if the rebellion goes ahead and fails.

"I hope it does. I guess we have Peeta to thank for the progress so far, as much as I dislike him, he's done more for the rebellion that either of us. Anyway, I'm starving, let's go eat." Again he grabs my hand and pulls me along the corridor towards the dining hall.

As we walk I wonder if Peeta knows the full effect of what he said. And where is he? His face has not appeared in the sky, believe me I've been paying attention, but he hasn't been on screen at all. At least if the cameras can't find him, neither can the other tributes.

Tonight's dinner uses the last of the meat that Gale and I caught, and we are given permission to go out hunting again this evening. Turns out the citizens of 13 have become accustomed to meat in every meal. The wild dog stew is a patch on Greasy Sae's but it's good enough. Although I'm not too hungry, there are strict rules about wastage, so I force every last mouthful down.

Gale and I race down to Special Command to grab our weapons. After everything that's happened in the last couple of days it'll be nice to get back to normality. We head out to the woods, equipped with our bows and tracking devices. It's nice to see that the animals are stupid enough not to have fled after our last hunting escapade; there are still plenty of targets. I begin by taking down a squirrel, hitting it square in the eye. It's a speciality of mine, killing the animal humanely while doing no damage to the main edible areas. Gale responds by taking out another squirrel, just missing the eye though. His shooting has never been as accurate as mine, his speciality is snares. While I continue shooting, Gale leaves to set up the snares. We plan to leave them overnight and collect our bounty in the morning.

"Feels good to be back out here, doesn't it?"

I nod. "I hate being underground the whole time, the fresh air makes everything more bearable."

"So it's not the fact that you're with me then?" I'm not sure if he's being serious or not.

"Don't do this, Gale, not now."

"I need to know. I need an answer."

Before I can argue back, Boggs come crashing through the trees behind us. There is a look of urgency in his eyes and I begin to fear the worst.

"Katniss, you need to come back to Command now, there's an emergency."

The colour fades from my face. "What kind of emergency?"

"It's your sister, she's dead."

Peeta

I watched Prim as she sat in her tree. There was no way she could see me, the camouflage station had served me well. I followed Prim straight from the Cornucopia, painting myself into the background immediately. I wanted to protect her, for Katniss' sake and also to defy the Capitol, but was scared she wouldn't want to team up. I'd witnessed her encounters with Foxface, Rue and the Careers. I wasn't much of a protector, too scared to step in and confront the Careers. Even I'm not that mental!

She seemed unfazed after the close shave earlier. She was safely tied to her branch, having a nap. We should be safe from Game-maker interference tonight. The one death today and Prim's near-miss with the Careers should be enough to keep the viewers entertained until morning.

I suddenly become aware of increasing heat, growing hotter and hotter every second. With a flash of light, a fireball lands barely a few yards away. What a lovely present from the game-makers.

"Prim, get out of the tree, NOW!" I don't even care about who might hear me shouting. I couldn't hear any movement from the tree. I left my position to move towards her tree but another fireball blocked my path. "Prim, wake up! Please!" I'm begging now, I can see that every ball of fire is getting closer and closer to her. The game-makers are sending a message, they could have hit her tree right away but they like to play with their food. I finally hear scuffling coming from her tree.

"Peeta, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. You need to hurry up and get out of the tree!"

I hear the panic in her voice, "I can't get my rope undone. Help me!"

I sprint towards the tree. I hear the faint whistle of an approaching fireball. I am frozen in my tracks, where is it going to hit?

It is a direct hit on the tree in front of me. Prim's tree. The canon booms.


	15. Chapter 15

**Feel so bad about the end of the last chapter, I hate killing people in these stories!**

**Please keep reading and reviewing!**

Peeta

I hate them. I hate the Capitol. Prim had done nothing, NOTHING, to deserve to die that way. Just to prove their power, they had taken the life of a child. For the first time in my life I am angry, really angry. Could they not have let it be? She was never any threat to them, was never going to win.

In normal circumstances a hover plane would come along to remove the bodies but I'm not sure how much remains after the fireball. Still, the thought of leaving this place without a proper goodbye pains me. I am suddenly determined to show the Capitol the error of their ways. Prim deserves to be remembered, not just by her friends and family but by everyone.

Only a short walk away is a bush blooming with white flowers. I take my time and pick enough until the bush begins to look bare. Back at the crime scene, where ash is beginning to fall from the sky like snow, I arrange the flowers around the stump of the tree. Using the dainty white flowers I spell out RIP PRIM. I know that this footage will not be shown, and this this rebellious act puts my life on the line too but I don't care. The rage is flowing out of me and I give little thought to the consequences of my actions.

Just in case there's a hover plane waiting, I grab my things and head off. I don't think I could bear to stay there anymore; the remains of the tree would just be a constant reminder of how I have failed Katniss. She'll hate me for letting that happen to her sister. I am now more determined than ever to win; at least district 12 will have something to celebrate. With my victory money (blood money) I can provide for the Everdeens, at least softening the blow.

It takes me a short while before I realise what direction I'm heading in, straight towards the Cornucopia, straight towards the Careers. My new found bravado has turned into a death wish, my weapons cannot match theirs. I stop, this is madness. The daylight is slowly fading, soon the arena will be plunged into total darkness and being this close to the Career camp is just stupid. The tears that have fallen for Prim have begun to wash away my camouflage, so I need to top that up.

Through the bushes I can see the Careers living their 5-star lifestyle. They have weapons and food and survival kits piled up. The 4 of them are sat around a fire, any other tribute in the arena would be mad to set a fire but not these guys.

Rue

The Capitol anthem begins to play, there was a canon fired this morning before our incident with the Careers and then another one this afternoon. Two deaths today, how many does that leave? 10 or 11? Either way I've got further than I thought I would.

The face of the boy from 10 dominates the sky, he must have died earlier. But wait, who's the second death? It can only be someone from 11 or 12; Thresh, Prim or Peeta. I have to pray that it's Peeta, although that's horrible.

It's Prim.

But how? I was with her just this morning. We'd both escaped the Careers by the stream, and her Canon had been much later on in the afternoon. Why hadn't Peeta done anything? I know he'd been following her, unless it was the Careers, he could have fought whoever killed her. It has to have been the Careers, everyone else was told by their mentors to help Prim; or at least not to kill her.

This is the first death in the arena that has affected me, I think of the pain in district 12 tonight where they will be forced to watch the moment where she died.

"My thoughts go to district 12, I am deeply sorry for your loss. Primrose Everdeen was a wonderful person, but her life was taken too early."

I find myself doing a salute which I saw during the reapings. I place my middle three fingers against my mouth and then aloft in the air. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I know it will mean a lot to district 12, and it's the best goodbye I can think of for Prim.

Tears begin to fall as the harsh reality of these Games kick in and I cry myself to sleep.

Katniss

My poor Prim. All gone now and it's my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid and run away from home she'd be tucked up in bed at home, with mother.

I hate the Capitol. I hate Gale. I hate Peeta. I hate myself.

We have all contributed to her death.

In Command the room is silent and all eyes are on me. I rewind the TV footage, watching her come to life again, and pause it on her face. The fear in her eyes enough to make anyone cry but I know this is the last time I will ever see her face so I have to savour every moment.

Gale encloses my hand in his, and uses his thumb to wipe the tears that are falling from my face. I know that he'll want to blame Peeta for Prim's death but the truth is I'm glad he was there when she died. At least she had a small part of district 12 with her during her last few moments, and I know there was nothing he could have done to stop what happened.

And the reaction of both Peeta and Rue were touching, it meant a lot to me that there were people who cared enough about her to defy the Capitol like that. It shocked me that the Capitol footage showed both, must have someone really high up on the inside!

Suddenly the door behind me slams open and a soldier who I've never met before bursts into the room.

"Urgent news to report, I have received information that the upset in both 12 and 11 has escalated into a full uprising."

"This is interesting news, has it all stemmed from the little girl's murder?" enquires Boggs.

"Yes, Sir, I believe it has. Do we have a plan of action?"

All of these people really cared about Prim that much? I've known her for 12 years, they've known her for about 12 days but start a rebellion after her death? It's all too much to take in, so much has happened in the last hour, but as "head" of the rebellion I know there'll be a job to do.

"As soon as the news of the rebellion reaches the Capitol, hover planes will be sent out to destroy the districts. If we leave now we can get to the districts first, our priority has to be rescuing as many citizens as possible."

"Of course, I'll have all the planes we can spare ready within 20 minutes."

The man excitedly leaves the room. This is the moment they've been waiting for, 2 of the districts are now in full scale rebellion. All it took was the murder of my little sister!

"Katniss and Gale, you'll come with me to district 12 to help with the evacuation of the citizens. We'll send another party to district 11 with Boggs. I estimate that we'll have just over an hour in the district before the Capitol planes will arrive. In that time, get as many people into the planes as possible. Tell them to only pack necessities; we have more than enough supplies here. Keep an eye out for men and women who look strong enough to become a soldier of 13, let's get an army together."

Gale and I are swept off to the plane Hangar with president Coin while 2 soldiers and Finnick accompany Boggs. In our plane, we are told to change into our uniforms. We remove our hunting gear, I'm too nervous and excited about the situation to care about getting undressed in front of everyone, and we are issued with the same black combat gear as all district 13 soldiers. Our bows and arrows have already been brought to the plane, precautionary measures I assume.

Our plane takes of around 10 minutes later. As soon as we are airborne Coin dials a number on the phone and puts it on speakerphone.

"Yes?"

"Haymitch, this is Alma Coin speaking."

Haymitch? As in district 12 mentor Haymitch? Yes it sounds a bit like him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"

"First of all let me say I'm sorry about Prim." He grunts. "We have a situation here at Rebel HQ. Districts 11 and 12 have escalated into full scale rebellion. We have planes on route to each to evacuate the citizens before Capitol planes reach the districts."

"Ah, I see. Was it the little girl?"

"We believe so. She clearly meant a lot to people."

"Obviously. I'm used to losing tributes but this feels different, I'd grown to like her too."

Real emotion from Haymitch, that's a new one. But knowing Prim, she always good at bringing out the best in people.

"So what's going to happen after you've filled 13 with refugees? You think the Capitol will back down?" Haymitch has a point, there's no turning back now.

"We're going to have to end the games early. Tell Plutarch that within 2 days we'll have to send planes to the arena, bring the tributes to 13."

Oh God, the revolution has started.


	16. Chapter 16

**Faster update this time, especially for you!**

Gale

Can we really pull this off? Evacuating 2 districts in under an hour and then breaking into the Games arena and rescuing all surviving tributes. If they have this power why have they not rescued tributes before? They could have gone in there before Prim died, saved Katniss a lot of heart ache.

The 45 minute journey passes slowly. Katniss is silently crying beside me, I can do nothing to console her. Coin is on the phone to the other hover plane repeating the instructions of the mission even though I'm sure Boggs knows what he's doing. In my head I think about what has become of my life, barely 2 weeks ago I was hunting in the woods in 12 and now I'm a soldier of district 13 and leading the rebellion.

We begin to descend so I buckle my seatbelt, and Katniss' since she has fallen asleep, ready for landing. The wheels touch gently on the ground so I lean over to shake Katniss awake; after all we have a job to do.

Coin calls Katniss and me over to her outside the plane. We have landed in a small clearing in the woods, we know it well, and we used to hunt here often.

"We have the maximum of an hour here. You two know the district well, what is the best way to use the time effectively?"

"Obviously we have to split up. Katniss and I will tackle the Seam area, we know most of the people there. If you could go up to the market area; Peeta's family lives above the bakery, you should probably get them out."

We synchronise our watches to the same time, in exactly an hour's time we must be back at the plane ready to leave. Katniss and I lead the way, making our way through the trees towards the fence.

I am disturbed by a faint buzzing sound. Damn, the fence is live!

"Katniss, don't touch the fence!"

She's on the floor, about to crawl under fence. She pauses, her hands only centimetres away from the fence.

"The fence is live. Those bastards have turned the electricity on! Can you slowly crawl backwards?"

I leave Katniss backing away from the fence while Coin and I try and come up with a solution.

"It seems that the Capitol have proved their power once again. Is there another way in?"

"There's a lot of trees along the boundary, we should be able to find a branch we can jump from."

Coin nods, "Then go ahead, soldier Hawthorne. I'll head back to the plane, see if our pilot can come up with some idea of how to tackle the fence, hopefully when you come back with the people they'll have an easy way out."

I grab Katniss' hand and we head along the perimeter.

"Thank God you noticed the fence. I've just been so distracted by everything. You saved my life."

"Guess it's evened out between me and Peeta now."

"How dare you!" She's angry.

"Sorry, bad joke. I'll shut up now."

We walked about half a mile before finding the perfect tree. There was a tree with a branching that extended a couple of metres the other side of the fence. It was a about a 10 foot drop from the branch but a small price to pay for saving lives. We plunge to the ground; thankfully we've both had our fair share of falls from trees so we know how roll at the bottom to avoid getting injured.

"You take the Seam, Gale. It's probably best if I'm the one to go to Peeta's parents. Shall we meet back here in 45 minutes? That gives us 15 minutes to get everyone to the planes."

I nod and set off towards home, Katniss sets off towards the houses near the Hob. I can't wait to see the look on Mum's face when she sees me. I don't even get a chance to make it to my house, I am interrupted by hoards of people on the street trashing the houses. A large group of men head towards the mines, hell-bent on destroying them I bet.

"EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" I manage to shout loud enough to command everyone's attention. All heads turn in my direction and everyone looks confused as they begin to realise who I am.

_"Is that Gale?"_

_"I thought he disappeared with the Everdeen girl."_

"We all need to get out of district 12; this uprising hasn't gone un-noticed in the Capitol." There are a few murmurs in the crowd, surely they had realised there would be consequences. "I have a way of getting you all out of here, but you have to trust me."

_"How do we know we can trust you? You've already ditched the district once!"_

This is a waste of time, time is ticking until we have to get back to the planes. "You don't. But you have two choices; trust me and get out of the district or don't trust me and wait for the Capitol planes to get here."

The murmurs in the crowd fall silent. I continue, "I don't have time to fully explain now. We only have half an hour to get out of here, please go home and collect only things you really need. Please alert your neighbours to this order as well. I need you all to meet me back here, ready to leave in just over 30 minutes. Anyone not back in that time may be left behind so please be on time."

The crowd slowly starts to thin as people begin to move away and back to their houses. I hope people will trust me. I run towards my house to get my family out.

Mum opens the door. "Where on earth have you been? We've been worried sick!"

"I'm sorry Mum, I can't explain now. We have to get everyone out of the district tonight, there are Capitol planes on the way, and they're angry. I need you to get the kids out of bed; we've got a way out of here. We need to leave in under half an hour if we're to escape in time. Please trust me on this. I'm so sorry I left you all, but I'm back now."

I reluctantly leave my house and make my way straight to Ms Everdeen's, I got my family out and I owe it to Katniss to get hers out too. I then work my way round other houses in the Seam. Most of them are already packing up, news travels fast in district 12. Some people are already finished packing and a small group of refugee are forming in the square. I hope Katniss is doing well, I guess I'll find out when we get back to the fence.

I glance at my watch and realise that my 45 minutes time limit set with Katniss is nearly up. My family is ready and have joined the throng of people patiently waiting for my instructions. I know that I haven't got everyone from the Seam but we have to leave.

"We need to make our way back to the boundary fence. "

_"How are we getting out of here? Just wandering through the forest?"_ It seems there are still people who don't believe me, and who can blame them? I haven't really explained myself that well.

"We have hover planes to use. Please don't ask me where we got them from or where we're going, that will all be explained once we are safely away from here."

I lead everyone through the streets, I can see Katniss standing by the fence with a large cluster of people standing with here. It looks like she managed to get a fair few people out, I notice that Peeta's parents immediately.

"You did well, Catnip."

"You too. Is my mother OK?"

"She's as good as can be expected, she's safe and that's all that matters."

Between us we have managed to get around 500 people to follow us, but I know it's not everybody. I can only hope they got the message and decide to get out anyway. It's a long shot but I don't want to consider the alternative.

We scour the perimeter again, but the faint humming of live electricity is no longer there. All we need to do is find some holes big enough to get everyone through in time. We find Coin at the space of our normal hole, she's been busy. Her and the pilot have been hacking at the fence all this time, creating a hole large enough to get at least 10 people through at a time.

"How did you manage this?"

"One of the district 3 victors on our side, Beetee, is a whizz with technology. He hacked into the Capitol system and turned the electricity off for an hour, so far the Capitol hasn't noticed. Looks like you two did well."

Everyone is bewildered, they have no idea who Coin is yet they begin to make their way through the fence and trust her to lead them to the planes. Along with the plane we arrived in, there are 2 others for the people of 12. Katniss, Coin and I decide to split up and ride in one plane each, that way we can take the short journey back to 13 to explain the situation.

The people begin to file into the planes. There's no sense of urgency, this is taking a lot longer than necessary and I begin to grow nervous.

"Please hurry up; I don't need to remind you that we're on a tight schedule." Coin, authoritative as usual, I'm beginning to like that woman.

Katniss gets into the first plane to be filled and the door on closes. Coin gets into the second plane. Finally I am left to herd the last people into the third plane. The door shuts just on the hour mark and all three engines begin to roar.

I look out of the window and watch all 3 planes rise into the air. I also watch the first firebomb hit district 12. I watch the flames engulf the only home I've ever known.

**Sorry about this chapter, it was sort of a filler for the next few chapters. They'll be better I promise!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I've had to stop naming the chapters, thinking of a name was actually harder than writing the chapter! Hope you're enjoying the story!**

Katniss:

That was a close call. The planes swept us all away from the flames just in time. The whole return journey I was haunted by the sobs as people began to come to terms with what just happened. The only place I'd ever called home had just been turned to ash in front of my very eyes.

Night has fallen by the time we reach district thirteen. The last hour has been terrifying for everyone but they day isn't over yet. Not according to Coin. She has her assistants register all the new citizens and arrange living quarters for everyone.

"Are the planes from 11 back yet?" Coin asks.

The assistant shakes her head. "Mr. Beetee has been following their signal, they're on their way back. They should be back soon."

People slowly start filing their way underground, some helpful and nosy district 13 citizens have kindly offered to show the new arrivals to their living quarters. The familiar roar of hover plane engines can be heard in the distance and 4 hover planes in a diamond formation make their way over the treetops to land next the 3 that we just arrived in.

I'm strangely excited to be face to face with people from another district. Obviously we've seen them on the TV in the Games, but it's not the same. The remaining district 12 refugees have suddenly lost all interest in finding their living quarters, suddenly are not tired anymore. They stare anxiously as the doors of the planes open.

The people of 11 are dark-skinned, all with dark hair and piercing grey eyes. I scan the crowd as they pour out of the planes, there are hundreds of them, around 200 in the first plane alone. I have no idea how they fitted that many people, we had around 100 packed into ours and that was uncomfortable enough.

My eyes are immediately drawn to a family moving out of the second hover plane, I can tell immediately they are Rue's family. The young children look so much like her, and the parents are fatigued. They rush over to me.

"We were told you are Prim's sister." I nod. "We're terribly sorry about what happened."

"Thank you. I was touched by your daughter's reaction; it was a brave thing to do. You must be proud of her."

They leave to join the queue. It has been a traumatic evening for everyone and they all just want to find their living quarters and go to sleep. All problems look smaller in the light of day.

While this is happening, Gale, Boggs and I are taken aside by Coin.

"Good work tonight soldiers, you saved just over 500 people tonight. No doubt there were people we couldn't save but don't dwell on that. Be proud of how many people trusted you to bring them here. Tomorrow we will have to screen them all to work out if any can be of use to the rebellion. Get some sleep tonight; it's going to be a busy day."

We take that as our dismissal and join the troop of people making their way underground.

Our heads barely hit the pillow before we're fast asleep.

I wake with a jolt, and I notice that someone is knocking on the door to our compartment. I open the door to Boggs standing in the corridor.

"Boggs? What time is it?"

"10 am, soldier. You and Gale are required to help Coin and I screen the new arrivals. We were meant to start half an hour ago."

"Sorry, we'll make our way down to Command in 10 minutes when we're ready."

When we walk into Command there is a desk set up on one side of the room, Coin and Boggs are already sat behind it. Gale and I take our seats behind the desk just as the first group of refugees is bought in. They are a mixture of people from 11 and 12, I recognize a few of them.

Groups of 10 come in to the room in alphabetical order. Each person in interviewed for a minute each, during which we are told to find out any skills they have.

Any men and women who look fit and strong are taken straight to the hospital for an army medical. Those who pass that are whisked straight off to Special Defence to start training. The majority of people in that category are from 11, most of 12 are too malnourished, though a couple of younger mens from the mines are deemed fit enough.

When my mother is bought into the room we decide that she should be sent to work in the hospital, although she's not a trained doctor she's done well enough treating district 12 invalids all these years.

"There's no need to start immediately, take a few days off for compassionate reasons. I know you're having a tough time at the moment."

"With all due respect I'd rather get stuck into work and try and take my mind off things, if that's ok?"

She smiles at me as she leaves the room to be taken to the hospital.

Hazel is sent to the laundry to work there.

Peeta's parents are sent to work in the kitchen.

After the lunch break we have screened nearly half the people. Gale and I are excused and sent to join the new soldiers in training. Just our luck, we're in time for the 5 mile run! Don't get me wrong, I'm totally up for this combat stuff but general exercise really isn't my thing.

Half an hour later, I'm one of the last to finish. Gale practically sprinted the whole way; I have no idea where he gets his stamina from. The men from the mines have done best in the run, but I have a feeling their hand-eye co-ordination in combat won't be as good as mine.

"Gonna have to be fitter that that if you want to fight the Capitol, Soldier Everdeen," admonishes my trainer. Apparently she used to train the tributes in the Capitol for the Games. One year she spoke out about the Games, saying how wrong they were. She escaped from the Capitol before they could kill her and somehow ended up here. She's been training district 13 soldiers ever since.

To prove my worth I excel in the weapon training, I shoot better than anyone. Combat in the Capitol isn't likely to be hand to hand so we practice with long-range weapons; shooting arrows and throwing spears. I wonder if there's a slingshot to use, apparently Prim was a genius with one and I fancy trying my luck. I want to kill Snow with the weapon she would have used.

We stop training in time for dinner but a few of the soldiers, Gale and I included, are asked to meet in Command for a tactics meeting afterwards.

I only pick at the grey goo on my plate, and the new arrivals from 11 and 12 don't look too enthusiastic about it either.

"It's really not as bad as it looks, just give it a try at least," Gale says to them. "And you really should eat more, Catnip, us soldiers have to keep our strength up!" He licks the plate clean. I manage to eat the bread, it tastes fresher than usual and I know it's been made by Peeta's parents. I push my tray away to show I'm finished, and Gale and I head out of the dining hall. I know I'll be punished for wasting my dinner but I don't care, I break enough rules here.

There are a few people in Command already. Coin and Boggs. Finnick. An elderly man in a wheelchair who I assume is Beetee. There are others there who I assume are past Victors too but I don't recognize them. The chairs are set in a semi-circle, around two chairs at the front which Coin and Boggs occupy.

I take my seat next to Finnick, we haven't spoken much but I feel some sort of silent alliance with him. We've both lost someone close to us in these Games, we both share hate for the Capitol.

The other soldiers lucky enough to be part of this intimate meeting enter the room. They are a mixture of new people and long-serving district 13 soldiers. Once all the seats in the room are filled, Coin stands and begins the meeting.

"I'll make this quick, tomorrow we embark on our biggest mission yet." Oh God, this is the moment we've been waiting for. "We're going to break into the arena and rescue the tributes before the Capitol can slaughter more children." She glances at me and I know that this is to avenge Prim's death.

"Our Game-maker on the inside has informed us that tomorrow there will be a feast announcement, this is our best opportunity to get the tributes out as they'll all be in the Cornucopia area."

One of the district 12 soldiers speaks up, "How is this going to work? We can't go unnoticed by the Capitol, surely."

Boggs stands up, "We will be launching 2 troops; one to complete the rescue mission and one as a decoy in the Capitol. Hopefully the decoy will distract the Capitol troops long enough for us to get the tributes out." Not a bad plan. "We don't want the Capitol to know that past victors are on our side so all Victors able to fight will be used in the rescue crew, not the decoy troop. The same goes for our district 12 friends Gale and Katniss, as far as the Capitol is aware they are in the woods somewhere." Gale and I exchange looks and then nod at Boggs. "I will lead the decoy troop in the attack of the Capitol. Peacekeepers are "shoot on sight" on this mission. Alongside me will be district 13 soldiers, we cannot risk the soldiers from 11 and 12 being seen. The Capitol thinks the people were destroyed along with the district."

Coin stands up to conclude the meeting. "I will lead the rescue mission. Alongside me I'll have a battalion of 20 soldiers, just in case. Our only aim is to get as many tributes out of the arena alive as possible. I have a list here of all soldiers involved and which troop they are in. It's a long journey to the Capitol so we'll have to leave early in the morning, meet at the plane hangar at 8am in the morning. That concludes this meeting, any questions?"

"_How do we know where the arena is, I thought the location was always secret?"_ I'm glad someone had the guts to stand up and ask the very question that was on my mind.

"We are lucky to have a technology genius on our side, Beetee." The old man in the wheelchair nods as all eyes turn to him. "He has hacked into the Capitol system and located the arena using the tracking devices placed in the tributes."

Very clever!

"OK, you are all dismissed. Please get some sleep tonight, there's nothing worse than tired soldiers."

There are excited murmurs between the soldiers as we leave the room but I can only think of one thing.

I'm going to see Peeta tomorrow.


	18. Chapter 18

**Thought I'd treat you guys to another chapter because I'm pretty busy at the moment so I don't know when I'll be able to update next!**

Peeta

The days have begun to merge into each other, separated only by whether Prim was alive or not. Since her death I have been in a cave down by the stream, I stumbled across it while wandering aimlessly around the arena. I think this is the third day in the cave but I can't count how long I've been in the arena for. I can't count how many tributes are left; I have no energy left to waste on counting.

When was the last time I slept? When was the last time I ate? I'm by the stream so water is in abundance but food is scarce. I wonder what Haymitch is thinking as he watches me; he's probably ashamed of me. I was doing so well until I was derailed by Prim's death. Now I'm some sort of shaking, jabbering hermit who's too scared to leave the safety of a cave. I'm pathetic.

I am startled by the sound of trumpets and the voice of Claudius Templesmith fills the arena, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Congratulations for staying alive this far. As a reward the Capital would like to invite you to a feast, attendance is compulsory if you wish to stay alive. The Cornucopia has been restocked, the treasures here may make the difference between you living and dying. The festivities will begin at nightfall."

Not unexpected I guess, I can't remember the last time I hear a canon. Was Prim the last death? But that was days ago, have the Capitol really left it this long before calling us together?

I drag myself from my position to stand up; every muscle in my body has gone stiff from not moving. I think I'm safe from tributes outside the cave. The careers are the only ones who could overpower me and they'll be at their camp, why hunt the tributes when in a few hours we'll be bought together anyway. The sun is blinding, I haven't seen the daylight for days. I stumble along the side of the stream, the terrain is rocky and its hard work.

It must have been midday when the announcement was made, and I don't know how long I've been walking for. I first walk to the place Prim died, I need something to make me angry so I have enough bravado to kill someone and that's the best place I can think of. I am flabbergasted, the tree that was destroyed has been replaced, there is only a ring of ash on the floor which makes me sure I'm at the right place. I wish they could create a new Prim as easily as that.

I sit in the new tree and wait for night to fall; I know I'm pretty close to the Cornucopia here. I wonder what they've put in the Cornucopia this time, just more weapons? And what did they mean by "attendance is compulsory if you wish to stay alive"? I decide to make my way to the clearing now, I want to be the first one there. I notice that the Careers have moved away from their camp, probably forced to move by the Capitol so that the Cornucopia can be restocked. This begs the question, where are they?

As day turns to night I hear Claudius Templesmith yet again, "Welcome, tributes, to the first feast of the 74th Hunger Games! I am sure that this will be great fun for all involved! Enjoy!"

There should be 11 of us, dotted around in the bushes in the perimeter. There's movement from the bushes to my right and a girl sprints towards the Cornucopia, I don't recognise which district she's from but it's a brave move. Or not. The Careers are on the move too. Clove has a knife ready in her hand, she flicks her hand and before I know it the knife is embedded in the girl's left eye. She gives one small shriek before the knife hits and the canon booms. One more down.

No-one's brave enough to move now. The 4 Careers have begun to pick through the treasures in the Cornucopia.

"Come on, we know you're out there! You want to get stuff from the Cornucopia, don't you? You can't be scared of us!" Glimmer is gloating. She doesn't want Clove taking all the kills.

"Oh shut up, stop provoking them and help us to rifle through this lot." Cato is definitely the alpha male in that pack.

I am suddenly aware of the sound of a hover plane, probably waiting to pick up the girl's body. But the Capitol normally waits until all tributes are away from the body before sending a plane. I glance up to the sky and suddenly the sky isn't there anymore. The force field that was enclosing the arena is punctured by an arrow fired from a hover plane. Who would be doing that? A canon booms, whose death have I missed? I look towards the Cornucopia, the mystery arrow that was fired is now embedded in Glimmer's skull, whoever fired it has really good aim.

The hover plane comes to land next to the Cornucopia, a woman gets out who I don't recognise. Surely this can't be part of the Games.

"My name is Alma Coin, president of district 13. I am ending these Games here and now, I'm getting you all out of here.

I am the only one who runs towards the plane, if this is my only way out of here alive; I'm going to take it.

"I know this is a shock but if you want to get out of here then you need to trust me and get on the plane."

Others make their way out of the bushes and cautiously walk towards the plane. Thresh and Rue simultaneously crawl out of bushes on opposite sides of the clearing and begin to run towards each other, joy on their faces. Foxface is next to emerge. The rest of the tributes slowly edge forwards, just testing to see if it's a trap.

I take my place by Ms Coin. "Ah, Peeta, it's lovely to finally meet you. If you'd like to take a seat inside the plane, we really should get moving."

How does she know me? I hesitantly step into the plane; I don't care where this is going to take me as long as I go as far away from here as possible. The plane is packed with men and women in black army uniform with their name embroidered across the chest. I recognise a few of them, they're from my district. I see Gale, so that means….

Yes. There she is. Katniss Everdeen. Our eyes meet for a fraction of a second and then she looks away.

Behind me, other tributes have piled into the plane. Only the Careers remain outside.

Coin calls over to them, "Are you coming or not?"

Cato and Clove look indifferent. I think they secretly want to get out of here but don't want to show weakness in front of their pack.

"We came here to kill and that's what we're going to do!" Marvel raises his spear to launch it at Coin. Katniss jumps from the plane, bow in hand and fires and arrow straight into his heart. The spear hits the floor only moments before his body.

"You've killed both district 1 tributes, Catnip, and you're not even in the Games!" Gale jokes. So she fired the first arrow, I should have guessed from the impeccable aim.

Cato and Clove sprint towards the plane. Once everyone is inside the door slams shut and the engine roars to life. The plan is lifted into the air and she fly away from Hell.

"Let me just go through who we've got here, I'll cross of both of district 1 thanks to you Soldier Everdeen."

Soldier Everdeen? What the Hell is going on?

"So we've got; both from 2, male from 3, female from 4, female from 5, female from 8, both from 11 and male from 12. OK, let me tell you what's been going on in the last few weeks."

I zone out as she talks about the survival of 13, the evacuation of 11 and 12 and the rebellion. It's a lot to take in but I can't seem to take my eyes of Katniss. She looks tired, only a fraction of the girl I used to know. She's been broken by the Capitol, and now she's moved from killing animals to killing people. I'm not sure if I like this new side of her, Gale's had too much of an influence on her.

I come back to reality and look around the plane. The other tributes are talking excitedly between themselves; elated to have been rescued, swapping stories about the arena, discussing the rebellion. I tune into Coin addressing her troops, "We're heading straight back to 13. I know it's risky, that's exactly where the Capitol will expect us to go, but we can't leave yet. We'll need another couple of districts on our side before launching a full attack on the Capitol, though it shouldn't take long after today. In the meantime you'll keep training; you'll be arranged into troops."

The journey to 13 takes a few hours and the time drags because I'm so excited to see it. I want some time alone with Katniss if possible.

When we finally land I'm disappointed. There're no buildings in 13, a barbed wire fence encloses nothing, just empty space. But Katniss leads the way to a staircase that takes us underground and I'm pleasantly surprised. There are hundreds of people down here, have they really lived down here for all this time?

"Why don't you all go down to the dining hall? I'm sure all you tributes are starving. Spend some time in there while we wait for the other troop to get back."

Gale leads the way. Katniss grabs my hand and pulls me to the side. The others take no notice of us and they walk past us, preoccupied with the thought of real food!

"How are you?" she asks.

"I'm good." I lie.

"You've been in the Games, you watched my sister die, there's no way you're good."

"OK, I'm awful." I giggle. "More importantly how are you?"

"Been better. Nothing's ever hurt as much as watching Prim die, but I'm channelling that anger into this rebellion."

"I'm sorry about Prim." She must be hurting a lot more than I am.

"It's not your fault, Peeta. I know there was nothing you could have done, just having you there was enough."

"So you've been watching the Games then?" She nods. "Did you watch bits before we went into the arena?" I start to blush.

"You mean did I see the interviews? Yes I did."

"So this won't shock you then." And I kiss her. And she kisses back.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

Katniss

"Am I interrupting something?" Crap, Gale! I pull away from Peeta and swing round to face Gale, he's furious.

"I'm sorry." It's all I can manage to say.

"When I kissed you in the woods, you pulled away like I was some kind of disease. He's been out of the arena barely five minutes and you jump on him."

"I'm sorry." It's pathetic; all I can do is apologise. I don't know what came over me, I've barely spoken to Peeta and all of a sudden we're kissing!

Peeta's just standing there, he doesn't even look embarrassed. In fact, he looks angry at being interrupted.

"Well I guess you've made your choice. I hope you two are very happy together."

He turns round and walks back down the corridor. "Please, Gale, it's not like that!" He doesn't even look back.

"Gale kissed you?" Peeta suddenly sounds hurt.

I nod. I have lost all ability to form words at this point.

"So why did you kiss me? And what does he mean about a choice?"

"He said he loved me. Then you said the same. He wants me to choose between you, I don't know who to pick. I guess he's just made that decision for me."

I get over halfway back to the compartment before realising that Gale might be in there. I'm going to have to ask Coin to rearrange the sleeping arrangements, I can't be in the same room as him. I risk going into the room, and thankfully he's not there. I'm sure there's some kind of important meeting with the tributes but I'm too exhausted to care. I crawl into bed and let sleep claim me.

I don't wake up until the following morning. I'm not sure when I last ate so I make my way to the dining hall. Neither Gale nor Peeta are in there so I collect my food and take a seat next to Finnick.

"Where did you disappear to last night?" he asks.

"Bed."

"So you missed all the drama then?"

I drop my spoon. "Drama? What happened? Fill me in!"

"There was a Capitol broadcast last night, public execution of some district 13 soldiers taken hostage during the decoy battle."

"How many? How many of them came back alive?"

"There was a troop of 40 that left in the morning, barely half that came back. Only 5 were executed on TV, we don't know where the others are."

"What about Boggs?"

"He got back. He's in the hospital; you're mother's taking good care of him. Just a few flesh wounds apparently, he should be out later this afternoon."

"How did the Capitol explain the lack of Hunger Games footage?"

"They said the tributes had been removed so the arena could be changed, the districts assumed that our plane was a Capitol plane. I guess it's just a make-shift story to keep the districts happy until a better excuse can be made."

I finish my breakfast in silence trying to digest the information I'd just been given. Where were the other soldiers? Were they being tortured in the Capitol? Had they escaped and if so, where had they gone? For the first time ever, I finish every scrap of the tasteless goo on my plate. When I look up, Finnick has gone. I push my tray away and leave the dining hall to rush up to the hospital, I want to see both Boggs and my mother.

However, I bump into Boggs in the corridor. "Aren't you meant to be in the hospital?"

"Aren't you meant to be in Command?" he retaliates.

"Huh?"

"Yeah there's a meeting. I've been temporarily discharged from hospital to attend, shall we walk together?"

On the short trip, Boggs fills me in on what happened on their mission. The decoy worked, all peacekeeper troops were pulled to defend the Capitol. Our troop was outnumbered and they couldn't hold out for long. Boggs called for all soldiers to retreat to the plane, but only half made it back. Even he doesn't know where the others are.

The meeting is my worst nightmare, Gale and Peeta in the same room. They are seated on opposite sides of the room, obviously designed to make me choose between the two. Instead I sit next to Johanna Mason, one of the past victors.

"Aren't you going to sit next to your boyfriend? Oh, no wait, you have two," she spits at me. Is she always like this? I want to move seats but Coin has just entered the room to begin the meeting, I've left it too late.

"After last night's theatrics, we are now officially declaring war on the Capitol. Beetee thinks he may be able to control TV coverage around Panem so today we're going to shoot a few propaganda videos to be shown on every TV in every district. We need to show the districts that district 13 exists, show then that we've got the tributes right here. I want the videos to show all the tributes and past victors as well as some district 13 soldiers, we need people to know that we have the strongest people on our side."

"What if we don't want to join your side? There's nothing wrong with the Capitol!" I see Clove still hasn't come round to our way of thinking.

To my surprise I find myself standing up to answer her instead of Coin. "Nothing wrong with the Capitol? Well of course you would say that coming from district 2! If you'd lived in my district you'd feel differently. Watching your friends die in the Games every year. I watched my sister die this year. Remember Prim, the girl you so desperately wanted to kill? The Capitol got to her first, sent a fireball straight at her. They killed her. They kill 23 children every year. EVERYTHING is wrong with the Capitol."

Everyone in the room is staring at me; Clove has slumped back into her chair. I blush, and apologise for my outburst.

Coin turns to a couple of people in the corner, each of them holding a camera. "Please tell me you caught that on film." They both nod. "Excellent, that's our first mini video sorted!"

Coin continues to give people instructions. First we have to the dining hall, take a video of the rescued tributes enjoying a meal courtesy of district 13. Then Gale, Peeta and I must go back to 12 to shoot a video in whatever remains. Thresh and Rue will do the same in 11.

We arrange all the tributes in one of the hover planes, and Gale and I are told to join them. The video will show us all coming off the plane one by one. Finnick will be doing a narrative although the tributes will need no introduction.

"This is Finnick Odair, watching the tributes enjoy one of their first meals outside of the arena. But they are not in the Capitol, oh no. They were rescued from the arena by troops from district thirteen, where a rebellion is steadily growing."

I leave the room at this point to head to the hangar. I'm not looking forward to going back to 12, least of all because it means an awkward journey with Gale and Peeta. On Coin's order I have changed out of my soldier uniform and back into the hunting gear I was wearing when I first arrived in 13. Gale does the same while Peeta has been issued with civilian clothes. We aren't meant to look too official in theses shots; we need to look relatable to the people in other districts.

As soon as Peeta is finished in the dining hall video, he comes straight down to the hangar ready to leave for district 12. I assume he's been told what happened, someone must have told him last night. He must have seen his parents, they must have told him.

Boggs accompanies us to district 12, along with one of the camera men. I talk to neither Gale nor Peeta on the journey after making sure I'm seated as far away from both as possible. It's the most awkward 45 minutes of my life, I'm so relieved when we land.

I look around at where we are. I think the Hob used to be here, but all that stands around me are piles of ash and rubble. Peeta is most shocked by the surroundings, he hasn't had time to process what happened, he didn't see the bombs hit.

The camera is continuously rolling, they want to capture real emotion, though I can't see how 3 people just standing in silence is going to be any use.

Peeta turns to Gale and I, "Tell me what happened, I want to hear every detail of that night."

We recount the story of how we came to save the people. How we climbed over the live fence, how we rounded up all the people we could and took them back to the plane. How we saw the district go up in flames as we flew away.

I think I see a tear fall, I'm not sure whether it's real or for the cameras but I know it'll be effective. "Did you save everyone?" he asks quietly.

I shake my head. "We couldn't. There was too many people and too little time. If we'd waited any longer before leaving then no-one would have survived, we just had to save as many people as we could. I'm sorry.." I break down, collapsing on the floor and sobbing. I see Gale advancing towards me to comfort me, but Boggs shakes his head and points to Peeta. Now he's out we need to play the "reunited lovers" card. Peeta sits on the ground and pulls me towards him, positioning my head on his shoulders.

The camera is turned off now, and I know that we've been spectacular. Gale heads off with Boggs to do a solo shot, leaving Peeta and me alone. I've been cradled like this before, by Gale. With both him and Peeta it makes me feel safe, enclosed in someone else's arms.

Is it possible to love 2 people the same?


	20. Chapter 20

Katniss

Our propaganda videos were shown live on Panem TV last night. Hearts were broken across the whole country and this morning, we have received reports of full uprising in every district. Even district 2, who has a close relationship to the capitol, has begun to fight back against the peacekeepers. It's unlikely that the capitol will bomb every single district, they only exist to control people, they can't do that if they're all dead. Even so, we have all the planes on stand-by ready to leave if we hear rumours of potential attacks.

The turn of events in district 2 seem to have persuaded Cato and Clove that ours is the right side to fight for, they have turned up bright and early for training this morning. Most of the tributes from the arena are willing to fight, still in the killing mentality, although this time its President Snow's head they want. One problem though, he's mine. His hands are dirty with Prim's blood and so I want my hands dirty with his

At training, it's all hands on deck, half the population of district 13 have turned up wanting a place in the rebel army. Along with Gale and Peeta, I am assigned to the star squadron consisting of Finnick, Boggs and a handful of other soldiers. Our trio seems to have been labelled as the leaders of the rebellion, despite not knowing about it less than 3 weeks ago. The mission of star squadron will be to shoot more videos alongside and during training. When we finally get to the Capitol we will not be fighting on the front line, despite having some of the best shooters, instead we'll be the stars of yet more videos for Beetee to show on TV. I don't complain for now, but at some point I will have to disappoint the rest of the group and break away to complete my own personal mission, kill President Snow.

The days pass slowly. I've never been one for routine and training begins to get tedious. Every morning all the squadrons join up for fitness training. The cameras do not bother capturing any footage here, Peeta is as bad as I am and we cross the finish line of every race together in last place. In the afternoon the squadrons separate to focus on different tasks. Some have tactics meetings; others train with the weapons while others stick with fitness. Star squadron focus on the weapon training, it's the chance to get the best footage. I get the chance to impress with my bow, Finnick is an ace with a trident and Peeta just chucks weights around, he's so strong. Some days we don't train in the afternoon session but focus on shooting videos instead.

Gale ad I are still in charge of supplying the kitchen with fresh meat so one day our video shoot is done t in the woods while we hunt. I want it to be like old times but it's not. Our whole squadron is there too, including the cameramen and of course there's the small matter of Gale still ignoring me. It's horrible, and so immature, I just wish he'd see that all this business with Peeta is just for the cameras. I still haven't made my decision. Peeta and I now share a room; to be honest I have no idea who Gale sleeps with now.

I try to teach the others how to shoot the animals. Most don't manage to take down anything and those who do pierce the arrow through the most edible parts, they aren't clean kills. I guess in a few days we'll be shooting people and there's no difference between and a clean and messy kill.

During the hunt the frosty atmosphere between gale and I is so obvious. Boggs signals to turn the cameras off.

"I don't know what's going on with the three of you, and on a personal level I don't care, but if this squadron is going to work you need to sort it out. I need full effective communication between all my soldiers, whatever's going on in your personal life shouldn't affect your performance here. I'm going to leave you to sort it out; if you can't put your problems aside we'll have to leave you behind." Boggs, the cameramen and the other soldiers pick up their weapons and head back out of the woods; leaving Gale, Peeta and me alone.

Neither Gale or I say anything, we leave it to Peeta to break the silence, he's always been best with words.

"He's right, we can't keep going on like this, it's no good for the squadron."

I speak up, "Gale, it's killing me that we don't talk anymore. You're the closest friend I've ever had, I don't want to lose you."

"You lost me the moment you kissed him," he spits back.

"Please don't say that, I love you." Both Gale and Peeta gasp. Did I really just say that out loud?! "I love both of you, and I know that's greedy and selfish but I can't help it."

"At some point you're going to have to choose between us," says Gale.

"I know, but I don't want to have to make that decision now. For the sake of the cameras I have to look like I'm with Peeta, but for the moment I don't want to pick one of you over the other. You both mean so much to me, the thought of losing one of you hurts me."

By pure coincidence, both of them come over to me simultaneously and put their arms round me. Even though I basically just admitted to pretending to be with Peeta only for show, he hasn't blamed me. We have to do whatever we can to help this rebellion. If I thought being cradled in the arms of just one of them felt safe, there's no word to describe how it feels with both of them. It's like all my problems have been erased. I want to pause life, stay in this moment forever.

I barely hear Boggs and the rest of the party come back. "Well it looks like you guys have worked things out, just in time too. We've got to leave soon."

"We're going to the Capitol already?"

"No, district 2. The Capitol has a large army of Peacekeepers in the mountain there, a secret force that no-one knew about. They have started fighting back against the citizens of district 2, who've called to us as back-up. It's time to save another district from extinction."

"I thought the Peacekeepers came from district 2?" Gale asks.

"Some do, some are bred in the Capitol, these must be from the Capitol."

No doubt we'll just be shooting more videos but it's a break in routine and I can't wait to get out of thirteen again. All together 5 planes are sent to district 2, each troop getting their own plane which makes briefing a lot easier.

Our squadron's job is to get the citizens away from the main combat, district 11 is apparently nearby and we've been instructed to direct people there. I don't know how much of it remains after the bombings, but it's merely acting as a holding area for the people until they can return to district 2. We'll be shooting camera footage of the evacuation, interviewing some of the citizens, but no mention of front-line combat. What's the point of training with all these weapons if we're going to get the chance to use them?

The journey to district 2 takes a couple of hours from 13, I hope the Peacekeepers have been kept at bay until our arrival. The planes land on the border of districts 2 and 11, the contrast is dramatic. In one direction are blossoming trees, large houses and the sound of people. In the other direction lay piles of ash, no sound but silence.

A few soldiers are left guarding the planes and setting up a camp while the rest of us head towards the sound of screams. I'm embarrassed to learn that even the cameramen have better fitness levels than I when even they seem to leave me behind as we run further into district 2. The flashing red lights on their cameras remind me that I'm constantly on film here so I pick up the pace. As we run deeper into the district we begin to find people. While the other squadrons continue to run, star squadron are ordered to stop and begin directing the people to safety.

"The safe camp is that way, people, if everyone could begin to make their way there."

"We'll let you know when it's safe to return to your homes."

"Don't pack anything to take with you, just leave now."

I am aware of a man crying and cowering against a tree in the shadows to my left. I walk slowly over to him, he's clearly in a fragile state and I'm scared of provoking him in any way.

"Excuse me sir, are you OK?" He looks fairly young, maybe in his early twenties.

"I don't want to fight them, I can't do it." He flinches as I get nearer and nearer to him.

"It's OK; there are people here to help in fighting the Peacekeepers." He looks directly into my eyes, like a small child.

"I don't have to kill them?" I shake my head. "I've killed so many people, they haunt me at night. I'm not a murderer; I'm not a bad person."

"You were in the Games?" I hazard a guess. Many victors end up going slightly mad, claiming to see the ghosts of tributes they killed. It's a rare thing in a Career district though, winning is an honour here.

He nods. "I didn't mean to kill them, I'm sorry. They think I'm one of the strongest in this district, but I can't fight the peacekeepers, I don't want to fight anymore."

I tentatively take a seat on the floor next to him. "You're not a bad person; you did what you had to do in the arena to survive. We'd all do the same. It's OK to feel guilty but it's not really you who killed them, it was the Capitol. They turned you into a killing machine, they do it every year, but you can't blame yourself. And forget about the peacekeepers, it's not your duty to fight them, our soldiers are here now. You don't have to do anything."

I suddenly notice that one of the cameras is pointed in our direction, recording my second rant against the Capitol and I know that I'll be on TV again tonight.

"You're from the rebellion? Yes, I recognize you from the video, Katniss?"

I'm shocked that he knows my name; does everyone know who I am? "I'm one of the rebels, yes. There are lots of us though."

"I want to join you."

"Join us? But I thought you were tired of fighting."

For the first time ever he cracks a smile. "I'll make an exception for the Capitol. I'll be more than happy to kill Snow."


	21. Chapter 21

Peeta

All the Peacekeepers are dead; Boggs has just been informed by the other squadrons. We have to keep everyone in the camp for another couple of hours while the bodies are dealt with. I wonder what they are going to do with the bodies; there must be hundreds of them. I shudder at the thought; I saw people get killed in the Games but not on that scale. Only 23 people had to die in that arena, only 23 people every year. Already in this rebellion hundreds, maybe thousands have already lost their lives. Is it really worth it?

I'm not doing this anymore. I thought being part of the games was bad enough, being forced into a position where I had to kill; but doing it voluntarily in the rebellion is far worse. And it's not who I am, I'm not a killer. But what to do about it? We've reached a point now where everyone has to choose a side, Capitol or Rebel. What if you don't want to be either, if you just want to be neutral? It seems like there's no in between. I want to run, just copy Gale and Katniss and just run away from all the problems, let's not forget that's how this all started. It's thanks to them that the existence of district 13 was revealed. It's all thanks to them that all the districts are revolting.

In the background I can hear Boggs announcing that district 2 is now safe and that everyone can return. That means that we'll be going back to 13 soon, back to training, back to killing. I won't do it. I can't do it. If I'm not in the videos, will the districts begin to lose faith in the rebellion? Maybe that's the way to do it, the rebellion fails and life will go back to normal. I've already been in the Games, that's the hard bit over.

I glance over at Katniss, she's still talking to that shivering wreck of a man she pried away from the tree, expect he's not so much of a wreck any more. They seem to be in the midst of a serious discussion. I'm uncomfortable with how close she's getting to him, the man's a killer. I could tell instantly that he'd been in the Games, he's strong yet haunted by something. He may not have been born a killer, but that's what the Capitol moulded him into, surely she can see that. Why does she trust him?

Boggs clears his throat ready to make another announcement. "Start squadron, can I have your attention please. On the orders of President Coin we are not to return to district 13. Our rebel army has been strengthened by the new volunteers from district 2 and she wants more reinforcements. During the next few days we must travel to other districts enlisting anyone that wants to fight for us. We have been given permission to use the training facilities in the "Career" districts, as you people would call them, to complete training. That is all for now people."

Our new volunteers leave and head straight to the training centres they were so used to as teenagers. Katniss' new friend, however, does not follow them. Instead he follows Katniss to board our hover plane.

I storm over to them. "Is he coming with us?" My voice is raised, showing my annoyance.

"He has a name. And, yes, Blaze is coming with us. And before you ask, I've cleared it with Boggs so there's no way you can get me in trouble for it."

Blaze? Yet another stupid name from district 2; a stupid name for a stupid person.

Barely an hour later, the camp is all packed up and all of star squadron have boarded the plane ready to depart. We have taken our seats and are buckled in for take-off. Katniss and Blaze are together again while Gale and I sit opposite. I'm glad to see I've found something that Gale and I agree on, he looks at Blaze with as much hate as I. Are we both jealous of him? Afraid that there could be a third contender to win her heart?

The plane takes off and we head for district 1. It's a risky plan because district 1 is so close to the Capitol, but we're likely to find people there who are willing to fight. As another Career district the people there will be strong having trained from a young age as preparation for the Games. I don't want to see them, more killers. But truth be told I'm surrounded by them. The desire to kill seems to be spreading through people like a disease, one that I seem to be immune to.

The days pass agonizingly slowly as we make our way through all the districts in Panem. Districts 1, 2 and 4 produces the most volunteers, unsurprisingly, as the Career districts. We spend most of our lives in the air, travelling between the districts following the route suggested by Coin herself. In each district we spend only enough time to talk to the people and take names of those interested. In districts without training camps, a plane is sent from 13 to transport the volunteers to a district that has one.

After district 1 we move onto district 3, then 4, then 5 and 9. It seems an odd way of doing it but Boggs assure me that it's the quickest route.

Only 4 days, and 500 volunteers later, we end our journey in district 7. Not many people here are interested in volunteering, clearly not a violent district. We have a camp set up in the woods here, this strikes me as odd because we've never slept in any other district we visited. I assumed that once we were done here we'd travel back to district 13 for further instructions. I was excited to go back, I'd made my mind up that I was going to quit the squadron and just work in the kitchen with my parents.

It's a long walk to our camp, even the fittest of our soldiers are tired out by the end. There are tents dotted around under the shelter of the trees. Gale, Katniss and I have been assigned to tent number 2, all are clearly marked with a number. We dump our packs in the tent and the whole squadron assembles round a fire pit as per Boggs' orders.

"Soldiers, welcome to your new home. Unfortunately we will not be returning to district 13, Coin feels that we are better placed here. District 7 shares borders with the Capitol, and from this base camp here we are a mere hours trek from there. The district uprisings began nearly a week ago, by now the Capitol will be suffering, missing all the luxuries supplied to them by the districts. They will be growing weaker, we must strike soon. In 3 days, all troops will be deployed to the Capitol. That gives our new recruits sufficient training time, any who are deemed unfit by then will be left behind. Enjoy your time here, soldiers, but concentrate hard on your training. In a few days, we'll be in serious combat."

Katniss speaks up, "You mean to say we'll actually be fighting? I thought this squadron was only for shooting propaganda videos?"

"We already have the districts on our side, Soldier Everdeen, we have no need for videos now. Star squadron has some of the best fighters in our whole army, it would be a shame to waste their talents. Goodnight everyone."

Boggs walks off to his tent, how come he gets one to himself but everyone else has to share? The rest of us are left alone. They are so caught up in celebrating the change to their mission that no-one notices me slip away. I need time on my own, to process everything. I'm useless at fighting, I survived in the arena by painting myself into the background and hoping to go un-noticed. I was only part of the star squadron to be a part of the videos, they can't expect me to fight. I can't protect myself, I'll be the first one to die. That's it, I'm leaving tonight.

I hear a rustling behind me, as I turn round I see Katniss emerging from the trees.

"I wondered where you'd got to" she says.

"I needed to get away from there, clear my head," I reply.

"It's so exciting, isn't it, we're going to fight the Capitol!"

"I'm not." For someone who's famed for being good with words, I'm not doing too well.

"But you have to, Peeta, your part of the squadron; it's what you signed up for."

"I signed up to feature in videos; I never wanted to kill anyone. I can't kill people, Katniss, it's not in my nature."

"These aren't just people, Peeta, they are monsters. They've controlled us, killed the people we love. That's what they are, killers."

"And that's what you're turning into too. Everyone in this army is turning into a killer, you're no better than the Capitol!"

She looks hurt, verging on angry. "I'm killing these people for revenge, not for fun. They killed my Prim; I'm doing this for her. You were there when she died, you must understand how I feel." Tears begin to fall down her face.

"I do understand, and I'm sorry about Prim, but I can't kill anyone. I can't live with someone's blood on my hands, even if they deserve it. I'm leaving tonight, Katniss."

"Leaving? Don't be silly, where are you going to go?"

"I'm not sure, but not having a plan didn't stop you running away from 12. Come with me, Katniss. Choose me."

She shakes her head. "I can see there's nothing I can do to stop you leaving, but I'm not coming with you."

"So this is it. You've made your choice?"

"I need to kill President Snow. You may not be willing to help me but there are plenty of people who are. Goodbye, Peeta."

She walks to me and kisses me on the cheek. I watch the love of my life walk away into the trees, the last time I ever see Katniss Everdeen.

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you're interested, I used this fan-made map of where the districts were. hunger-games-a-look-at-panem**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hope you like the new chapter! Tried out writing from a different character's POV in this, I hope it worked!**

Cato

We leave for the Capitol this afternoon. I think back to when I was in the launch room waiting to go into the arena, the feeling of excitement. The feeling that in a few moments, I'd be in the arena and all my training would pay off. I have that same feeling now, my hands itching to hold a sword once more. Weapons and fighting are all I know, my whole life has been spent in the training centres at home. I'm good at what I do, but that's not why I do it. Built within me is some primal need to attack, to hurt, and to kill. I think about all the blood that will be shed tomorrow, on both sides, and my heart skips a beat from the excitement. Part of the thrill is knowing that you're in danger, that you could be dead in a few hours. I'm built to survive and that's what I'll do.

There's another feeling inside me too, one that I'm not familiar with and I don't like it. Fear. Fighting other humans is what I'm comfortable with; it's what I'm trained for. They are predictable and easy to deal with. The Capitol armies won't just be human though, they'll release the Mutts and that's what scares me.

I glance over at Clove who shares my room in 13; she's polishing her beloved throwing knives that she stole from the arena. They served her well; I've never seen her miss a shot with them. I know I'll be armed with a standard sword from the district 13 armoury; it won't be as good as ones I've had before; but success depends on the wielder of the sword, not the sword itself.

Most of the other soldiers had planned to spend this morning in Special Defence doing some last minute training with the weapons. Neither Clove nor I need any more training, we've been handling these weapons since we learnt to walk. We're the most ruthless killers in this army and we've been out of action for too long. It's midday so we head to the dining hall for lunch, I hate the food they serve here but today I eat every last scrap, I can't defeat the Capitol on an empty stomach can I?

After lunch it's finally time to leave. We're set to join the rest of the squadrons at their camp in district 7, tonight we'll camp there and tomorrow we'll march for the Capitol. We'll march for justice. Only a few troops of soldiers have been left behind to supervise the running of district 13, also to defend it should there be any attack here. Every other soldier is loaded into the remaining planes; there are a lot of us so it's a tight squeeze, especially with all the weapons in the plane too.

Clove and I eavesdrop on President Coin's conversation on the plane. She's discussing the traps the Capitol has set in case of attack; apparently they were set after the Dark Days, lying dormant ever since. In the last week or so they've been upgraded, they know we're on our way to fight them. I learn that the traps are called Pods. I also learn that the tech department have been working closely with our inside sources, who apparently haven't been found out yet, to produce interactive maps that show the location and the type of Pods. She says that the Commanders of each squadron will be allocated one of these, it's called a holograph. It seems that when we win the rebellion, it's the tech department that can take all the credit.

District 7 could not be more unlike district 2. I know people say that district 2 has the best quality of life and standing here in 7 I can see that. The houses are tiny, obviously made that way because only a small amount of the land is flat; the terrain is largely dominated by the trees used for the lumber. The houses are confined to the small amount of flat land and are small enough to house the entire population. It strikes me as odd that this poverty-stricken district can be so close to the Capitol where life is so easy.

By the time we reach the camp, it's late, and President Coin wants to get the briefing done. I don't see what there is to say, we all know how to use our weapons, we all know how to kill. But if we don't play by her rules we won't be allowed to fight, and that's all I want to do. I want to be in control of my own life, I don't want them controlling it for me. It must be worse in the poorer districts; I think I'd rather die than live in district 12.

Blah blah blah. That's all I hear coming out of her mouth. All she needs to say is "Go out there. Shoot some peacekeepers and try not to get killed." Finally her speech ends and all the soldiers are excused so Clove and I head off towards our assigned tent. One of Coin's assistants intercepts us, "The President wishes to speak to you, both of you." What could she want?

I spot her tent from a mile off; it's the biggest one here and has 2 guards stationed outside.

"Ah Cato, Clove, thank you for coming to see me, Take a seat." She motions to a couple of chairs laid out ready. "I want to move both of you to a different squadron, from now on you will be assigned to star squadron."

"What's wrong with our old squadron?"

"Since you are trained in other weapons than a bow we feel that you should be part of the troop with the best archers for safety reasons."

"You mean the Everdeen girl?"

"Amongst others, yes."

I scoff, "I'm not switching squadrons so I can be babysat by some district 12 reject! She's not a better fighter than me; I held my first weapon before she was even born."

"I'm saying no more. Those are my orders and if you don't like them then a plane back to your own district can easily be arranged. You are excused. Go to your tent and get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

We leave her tent and find that our own tent has been moved so that we are now with our new squadron. Taking Coin's advice, for once, we both head straight for bed. Unlike the other soldiers the thought of the forthcoming battle won't keep us from sleeping, we're used to it.

Morning comes all too slowly; both of us are desperate to get started. The sooner we take over the Capitol, the sooner we can all go home and carry on with our normal lives. Clove and I are the first awake, we have our tent taken down and our backpacks all packed by the time everyone else wakes up. Breakfast is just a meal of dried crackers, when you're feeding an army of nearly 800, you can't afford luxury. I'm sure when we get to the Capitol we can raid a couple of houses to get some decent food.

A soldier strides over to us, "Welcome to star squadron, soldiers, my name is Boggs and I'm the Commander of your squadron. This is a squadron with a difference; you may notice that we'll have some cameras around."

Katniss comes out of her tent, "I thought we weren't being filmed any more, I thought we were fighting."

"We feel, or rather President Coin feels that the districts should be informed the happenings in the Capitol. We have some very brave Cameramen that are going to follow us in our battles and film it all."

Boggs walks off to pack his bag leaving Clove and I alone with the Everdeen girl. So much hostility in her eyes, after all Clove wanted to murder her sister. I couldn't care less what she thinks of me, I don't like her much either, I'm here to fight the Capitol. As long as she doesn't get in my way I can just pretend that her and lover boy don't exist; believe me, it's much better that way.

The squadrons head off in different directions, we're planning to attack from all angles. Some tents have been packed, one tent per squadron, while the others are left behind for the peasants of district 7 to clear up. Our troop assembles in preparation to leave, and I notice an absence. Where's lover boy? I see Katniss and her reject friend from 12 but the other lover is nowhere to be seen.

"Lover boy get bored of you already?"

"None of your business," she hisses back.

We set of on the long march to the Capitol. It's hard to say how long it took, with my desperation to get fighting, it seems like we walk forever. Finally we meet the giant barbed wire fence that blocks our entrance.

"And how do we get past this?" I enquire. Katniss steps forward with her bow loaded. "Got a magic arrow have we?" I mock. Turns out she does. Her arrow creates an explosion on impact causing the fence to shatter leaving the way clear. She gives me a sarcastic smile and heads back to standing with her second-choice lover. I don't know who decided she was God and created those arrows for her but I want them to make me a weapon like it.

We march on for a few miles or so, the huge buildings of the Capitol looming ahead of us, and then we stop to regroup. Boggs takes the lead as Commander while Katniss and reject number 2 go behind. The rest of us are ordered behind, with the Cameramen unarmed in the middle.

"We're still about a mile away from any Pods but we still need to be on guard, beware of…" Boggs is interrupted by a shrieking howling sound from the bushes to our right. Been within the Capitol boundaries barely an hour and the Mutts are on us already. It's a large bear like creature with matted fur, capable of walking on all-fours or on both legs. They are built with so much intelligence that they converse with each other not just by the growls but with hand signals too. The smallest of them is around my height when on 2 legs, I'm almost frozen with fear. Clove is already groping around for her knives, how is she not scared by these things? Arrows start flying and some Mutts get taken down, but every time one falls another appears out of nowhere. Our squadron gets dispersed across the large plain we're in; I stick close to Clove but then a pack of the Mutts sprint towards us. Clove gets to work, sending her knives straight into their chests. I throw the only thing I have, and my sword embeds itself in the head of a Mutt. I run towards the fallen monster to reclaim my weapon when one of the beasts leaps at me and knocks me off my feet. "Clove, Clove!" I scream for help but she's too busy taking down Mutts. The beast growls, saliva dripping from it's jaws, as it slowly crawls towards me. I'm trapped, unarmed and I know that this is the end. The beast rears up on to its hind legs ready to make the attack but instead it lets out a low rumbling sound before falling to the ground, dead.

My head is hazy, I'm blinded by both panic and relief but I think I see her standing there. The Everdeen girl, the one I hate. The girl who just saved my life.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter; might have to do more chapters from Cato's POV! By the way I've got another story up, called Quarter Quell: A Reason To Live, it's very different to this story but its not getting a lot of love at the moment =(**

Gale.

I wish that district 2 creep would quit staring at Katniss; ever since the Mutt attack he hasn't been able to take his eyes off her. I know all eyes were on her during the fight, the way she took down the beasts with an arrow straight to the heart, her shooting was unparalleled. But that was yesterday, there must be another reason. Now Peeta's gone, she's mine.

We're nearly at the Pods now. Only a few miles into the capitol and it's taken us a day and a half!

After the onslaught of the mutts we set up camp immediately, there were injuries to be taken care of and lost comrades to be mourned. With only 1 tent between us the night was hard, the wind tearing over the mountains. The tent could squeeze 6 people in but it wasn't comfortable. Used to rough conditions, Katniss and I opted to sleep outside, but even when we weren't on watch sleep was not easy to find. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the mutts again, ripping out a man's throat right in front of me. We lost 5 in total, a heavy loss for the first day and we know there are more horrors still to come.

The first pod-lined street lies ahead of us and we're all afraid to be the one to take the first step. Only the slightest movement can trigger it and you end up facing your worst nightmare. We've been walking for a couple of miles so we decide to have a rest. It gives us a chance to analyze the pods which lie ahead of us and plot on how to avoid them.

"I could always fire an arrow at them, trigger them all off and then we can walk down there knowing that it's safe," suggests Katniss.

"It's a good thought, soldier Everdeen, but a huge waste of arrows. It's not like firing them in a battle where you know you can retrieve them at the end, there's no guarantee that you'd get them back and we've only got a limited supply."

"Then we use something else to detonate them, find rocks or stones to throw. It doesn't matter if we lose them, they're easily replaced. We can find loads of them here, and take them with us. When we've used them all we'll find something else to use," I say.

And that's that. We are instructed to spend half an hour searching for stones that look heavy enough to trigger a pod. We're allowed to go within a mile radius to find them. The soldiers don't look impressed, when they signed up for this mission they were expecting more than this. I bet all the other squadrons are in the Capitol already, I wished the holograph could show the location of them all. All the commanders have a communicuff with which they can contact the other troops in the event of an emergency.

Katniss and I go on the hunt for stones together; it feels weird to be just the 2 of us after being in such a large group for so long. Her bow is constantly loaded in case of attack, but the only people we're likely to bump into would be our own.

After half an hour we regroup and Boggs spends time picking through the stones we've collected and spreading them across all our packs. A few stones in each pack shouldn't make that much difference in the weight and no supplies should need to be sacrificed.

I notice that the creep is staring again; and since we're all just waiting around while Boggs is repacking so I decide to go over and talk to him.

"Quit staring at my girl."

"I'm not staring. Anyway, what makes you think she's yours?"

"She chose me. She's mine, so back off."

"Did she really pick you? Or is she just lumped with you now that lover boy number 1 has run off?"

I'm fuming. I want to hit him, but his hand is holding a rather sharp sword, and I value my life.

"Anyway, don't you already have a girlfriend? That girl from your district."

"Clove? We're not together in that way, nothing romantic there.""

"Oh." And that's the end of the conversation; neither of us has any more to say to each other. Truth be told, he intimidates me, so I leave with no explanation as to why he can't take his eyes off Katniss.

Katniss.

We take shelter in the doorways of the first building on the street; the pod detonation zone is about 100 metres away. Clove has been elected to detonate the pod since she has the best throwing aim. She's quick too which means that as soon as she throws the stone she can run to the shelter before the bullets fly. I notice that Cato is for once showing some emotion, he looks concerned for his district partner. She throws the stone and sprints towards the doorway nearest to her which isn't ours. The ground shakes as the pod is hit and then the shower of bullets is set loose, it sounds like fireworks being let off.

Cato leans over to me, "why did you do it?"

I have no idea what he's talking about. "Do what?"

"Kill that mutt, save my life."

"I did what anyone would have done, when you're in a squadron you look out for one another. Whether you like it or not we're on the same side now, and that's how things work. Would you rather I'd let you die?"

He shakes his head. "Thank you."

Real emotion from the district 2 monster, it's almost touching. He was part of an alliance during the games; he must be used to fighting in a pack. But I guess an alliance is different, the Games can only have one victor, and there was no-one that would have been willing to save him. He was so used to being a lone soldier; he's never had people to help him.

Finally the shower of bullets ceases and we crawl out of the doorways we've been occupying. Windows have been shattered and there are shards of glass everywhere. I was hoping that the bullets might have triggered the second pod but these are too well designed.

Looking at the holograph over Boggs' shoulder I could see that the was a radius of about 2 metres where the pod would be detonated, that left a ledge of only half a metre that we could safely walk on. We'd have to walk single file, something that could use up valuable time for troop so large. Gale and I have quite good balance from climbing trees when we hunt, but for other people this small ledge to walk on must be quite daunting. I imagine someone like Cato will struggle, he's tall and although he's a good fighter I don't think his balance will be very good.

Gale and I go first, to show the others how to do it, followed by Boggs. While the others are crossing, under the watchful eye of Gale, Boggs and I examine the holograph. We have a choice of turning left or right at the end of this street, we need to find out which the quickest way into the Capitol is and which street has the least pods. By the time we've made our decision to turn left all the other soldiers have pass the pod successfully. The Capitol must think we're nearly all dead; they have no idea we can tell where the pods are. The fact that we triggered the first pod but not the second, that Capitol must think that the shower of bullets took out our entire squadron. If only we could get by with not triggering any other pods we'd have the element of surprise when we finally get closer.

I haven't forgotten my own mini-mission. I need to get the holograph somehow. Gale, Blaze and I are planning to break away from the squad when we get closer, we need to find Snow and kill him. But until we get closer, the squad can't be split up otherwise 1 group would have to negotiate the way without a holograph. Also known as a death wish.

There are 2 pods along the next street, one releasing a swarm of tracker jackers and the other releasing a deadly gas. It's going to take a lot of planning to defeat those; if the tracker jackers are released we're as good as dead. Unfortunately we'll come across a tracker jacker pod whether we turn left or right, there's one in both streets. If by some miracle we pass the first pod we'll be hit by the gas and none of us have protective masks.

While we all try and form a reasonable plan we sit down and take the time to eat. No crackers this time, but dried fruit instead. I know that in the houses around us, Capitol citizens will be eating food so luxurious it makes my stomach rumble. I can hear the rumbling, and it's getting louder by the minute. It almost sounds like footsteps. Crap, it IS footsteps.

"Peacekeepers! Quickly, hide!" Gale is already off before I've even finished, I know he's heard them too. When we hunt we can hear prey before we see it, our hearing is second to none. We pile into the shade of a doorway and wait; they could come round the corner any minute? But how are they getting past the pods without triggering them?

I can hear the Peacekeepers talking, so I know they're close. "Is this street disabled?"

"Yes sir."

Brilliant! If the pods are turned off, now would be the perfect time to make a run for it. I'd much rather face a troop of peacekeepers than pods. The street would be safe, the Peacekeepers couldn't turn the pods back on without killing themselves as well as us. In my excitement I don't hear the door behind me opening. I'm about to suggest my plan when a hand grabs me from behind and pulls me into the darkness.


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you for everyone who has been reading this story! It's my first story so it means a lot! If you're interested I've got a second story on the go, A Reason To Live.**

Cato

She's gone. I'm suddenly aware of the empty space behind me where only a few seconds ago, Katniss had been. Without disturbing the others, who are busy panicking about the approaching peacekeepers, I slink further back into the doorway to find the door ajar. Careful not to make a sound I slip inside the building, time to repay her for saving my life by saving hers.

The room I'm in is dark and dusty, but there's a crack of light from under a door in front of me. From behind the door I can hear voices, but they are muffled and I can't quite make out what is being said. I have no option but to go in there are hear what's being said.

"Katniss, I'm here!"

"Cato? Why aren't you out with the others?"

"You disappeared, I had to come and find you, I thought you were in danger. What's he doing here?" I've only just noticed the figure standing next to her, Lover Boy. I thought he ran off days ago, how can he suddenly just pop up in the Capitol?

"No time to explain, we need to get the others in here before the peacekeepers find them!"

The three of us rush back to the doorway and pull the others silently through the door. Clove is the last one in; we pull her feet in and slam the door shut just as the first peacekeeper rounds the corner, hopefully they didn't see us. Katniss and lover boy lead the others into the room while I stay behind to bolt the door. As soon as the door is locked I breathe a sigh of relief, we're safe for now.

Being on the outskirts of the Capitol this house doesn't compare to the luxury of more central houses, but compared to the last couple of nights it feels like heaven. There are no words to describe how comfortable the sofas are but even sitting on the floor is made comfortable by the plush carpet. I rifle through the kitchen and find tubs of food in the fridge, real food. It's not long since we last ate but we can't take these with us so we share them round and stuff ourselves until we're full, and there's still food left for later. Besides, we have to wait until we're completely sure the peacekeepers are gone before we resume our journey, who knows how long we could be stuck here!

I glance over at Katniss who seems to be in a deep conversation with Peeta. How can she be acting as if he never left? I shuffle over towards the kitchen until I'm close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What made you change your mind?" she asks.

"You. I couldn't bare being out in the woods on my own and not knowing if you were OK. I need to be here when I can protect you." Ugh, how desperate is that?! He's more pathetic than I thought.

She smiles weakly at him, "Thank you, but I don't need protecting. How did you get here?"

"I found a tunnel. There was an entrance in the woods and it led me here, I ended up in the basement. It must have been some kind of escape tunnel for whoever lived here. I was really lucky to find the tunnel and end up exactly where you were!"

"I thought there were Pods underground though, how did you get past those?"

"Pods? Sorry, I don't think I know what they are. You must have found out about them after I left."

"They're sort of traps, the Capitol's defence, they're dotted around in the streets and in the sewers to stop invasions," I interject and immediately I know I've stepped out of line. They both stare at me as if to say "were we talking to you?"

"If you've been listening into our conversation, and I suspect you have, you'll know I wasn't in the sewers." Peeta spits at me with so much venom in his voice.

"Then that means…" My voice trails off but the thought remains in my head, there's another level, a way into the Capitol with no threats. I don't know how far from the centre we are but if we set off now surely we'd be there by tomorrow. If we stick to our current path it might take us weeks! Boggs, I need to find Boggs, I need to tell him what Peeta said. I don't want the other troops to get to the Capitol before us; I don't want to miss all the action.

Boggs is in the corner studying the holograph, probably plotting the rest of the route. "There's another way, that's how Peeta got here. There's another level between the street and the sewers, escape tunnels. There are no Pods there."

"There's a tunnel all the way to the centre?" Actually, did he say that? He said there was a tunnel leading here; he didn't mention anything about other tunnels. Oh God, I look like a right idiot. I tentatively shake my head, embarrassed. "Then stop wasting my time. Go to sleep or do whatever, I don't think we'll be leaving here for a while."

Grumpily I take his advice and pick a spot on the floor next to Clove and shut my eyes. Sleep comes almost instantly. I wake to the sound of Clove sharpening her knives; glancing around me I see that everyone else is asleep. Boggs is snoring; the holograph is hidden out of sight. If only I could find it then I could leave this squadron behind and leave, I always work better alone, but I know that he's a light a sleeper and he'll wake up the moment I get close.

"He's run off again, you know," she says.

"Who, Lover Boy?"

She nods. "And he took her with him this time."

I lose it; I go mental, "What? How long ago was this?"

"I don't know, about half an hour ago, that's that woke me up."

"I'm going after them, you coming with me?" She shakes her head. "They're on their way to the Capitol, they're not running away, they just want to be the first ones to get to the President."

"In that case I'll come," she grins and tucks her knives inside her jacket. I love how I can always rely on her to follow me, even when I have no idea where we're going! As long as there's the guarantee of a good fight, she's there. Stereotypical district 2, like me!

If we find them, a sub group of 4 is too small and I couldn't stand to be that close to them, so I wake up a couple of reinforcements. Blaze from my district has been desperate to get to the President so I wake him and within a minute he's packed and ready to go. I'm reluctant to wake up the last member of our "team" but I think he'll be useful, so I wake up the reject lover boy, Gale.

The four of us sneak around the room trying to find the entrance to the basement where the tunnel begins, every moment we spend searching for it is a moment that the other 2 get further ahead of us. We finally find it after about 10 minutes, the search taking longer than expected because we don't want to wake anyone up. By now Katniss will have had a 45 minute head-start, and we still have no idea which way to go.

Scaling down the ladder I find that at the bottom there is only on way to go, the way that Peeta came in which means we're heading in the wrong direction.

"I don't want to walk away from battle, you said these tunnels would lead to the President," moans Clove.

"There must be a way, Katniss and Peeta can only have come this way and there's no way she'd walk away. She's desperate to kill Snow; she wouldn't turn her back on it for Peeta. I know that's where they've gone."

"I hate to admit it but you're right, they must have found a way. We'll have to go this way; hopefully there'll be a labyrinth of tunnels that we'll find. It can't just be a straight tunnel, there must be turns."

Instead of wasting any more time arguing we set off in the only direction we can, turning our backs on our squadron. Gale and I are barely able to stand up in the tunnel, being well over 6 foot tall, but the size of the tunnel doesn't affect the others. I'm finding the 6 by 6 metal tunnel suffocating, until now I had no idea I was claustrophobic. It doesn't help that I have to duck to walk down here, and my neck is already starting to cramp. It's hard to hold on to my sword down here, must be harder for Gale and his bow. If we were to get attacked down here, it would be really awkward to fight. I'm hoping there's no-one down here but us, and the only others we're going to bump into will be Peeta and Katniss.

Before long we come to a junction, a choice to turn left or right. We have no idea which way the Capitol is or which way the others went. Making the wrong decision at this point could be disastrous; if we go the opposite way to the others then we've failed our mission.

"Which way now?" Blaze asks.

"I have no idea, this was a stupid idea." I say and I slump to the floor. I can't fail, I've never failed anything in my life.

"I think I know which way they went," Gale pipes up. "When Katniss and I were on the run we had a joke that going south would always be the right way, she'd have turned south. I just can't work out which way south is without seeing the sun."

"That's really not helpful," I snap.

HELP! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?! HELP!

I'd know that voice anywhere. Katniss.


	25. Chapter 25

**Again, thanks for reading and reviewing. This is quite a quick chapter because I'm really busy with work at the moment, so sorry if I take a long time to update! Hope you like it!**

Katniss

No-one is coming. I am alone. No-one can help me.

"_Katniss!"_

"_Where are you?"_

A faint sound of shouting and footsteps. I am suddenly pulled into someone's arms, I know these arms well.

"Gale," I sob.

He strokes my hair, "It's OK Catnip we're here now. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Peeta. Peacekeeper. Dead."

Gale isn't the only one here. The trio from district 2 are here too, Cato is investigating the 2 limp bodies that lie on the floor beside me, unmoving. Declaring the Peacekeeper dead, he pulls the body away to reveal the second body, Peeta. He looks so calm and peaceful, he looks dead. He is dead.

"I know you're upset but I need you to try and calm down and tell us exactly what happened," Gale sits on the floor and pulls me onto his lap.

"We bumped into a Peacekeeper; they must have patrols down here. He killed Peeta. I killed him."

"I know you need time to grieve but we need to move on. If there are other patrols down here then they will have heard you shouting and they'll be on their way. We can't afford to lose anyone else," Cato says.

I look up at Gale and shake my head. I don't want to walk any further. "Cato's right, we need to go before any more Peacekeepers find us, none of us are up to fighting now."

I hear Clove whisper to Cato, _I'm always up to fighting_, and for the first time ever she makes me smile.

"I'm not leaving him, we can't just leave him here for them to find."

"We don't have a choice, we can't take him with us!"

Gale takes my hand and helps me off the floor. I know they're right, we have to move away from here, but I can't let go. Peeta saved my life once but I couldn't manage to save his, and now I'll never get a chance to fully repay him. His last words will haunt me forever_, I love you_, and I wish I could tell him I felt the same. But now I will never get that chance.

I think we walk forever, at least it feels like that. I have no idea where we're going or why, I just follow the others. Cato and Clove are walking ahead of us while Blaze walks behind; all 3 are armed in case of another attack. We walk until my legs buckle underneath me and I can walk no further, Cato moves further ahead in order to find the entrance to an empty house to spend the night in. He returns quickly which means that he must have found one not too far ahead. My legs refuse to work, so Gale carries me the rest of the way, I hate to be such a burden to him. There's a ladder leading to the house which I have to manage alone, Gale can't carry me. Cato has scaled the ladder first; he pulls me up into the house and carries me to the sofa. I'm not used to being carried round by such strong men; I could appreciate it more if Peeta's last words weren't a declaration of his love for me.

I wake up to the smell of Coffee; I know Coin used to drink it when we were in 13 so I recognise the smell even though I've never tried it. There's a harsh artificial light in the ceiling above me, I'm definitely not in the tunnels anymore. The memories of last night come flooding back. I look round the room searching for his face but I know he's not here; we left Peeta down in the blackness of the tunnels, dead.

"Morning, Catnip, how you feeling?" Gale pops up next to me.

"How long have I slept for?"

"Only a couple of hours. Do you want anything to eat?"

I shake my head. He forces a glass of water into my hands, "You need to at least drink something."

I hadn't realised how thirsty I was until now and I drink the entire glass of water. The house we're in is more luxurious than the previous, so we must be getting closer to the centre. At least we're heading in the right direction. This is the second empty house we've come across and I wonder where the people are, and what made them leave. Were they inside members of the rebellion that got found out? Any alternative ending for them makes me shudder. The Capitol has no morals, they just kill for the fun of it.

"How did you guys find me?" I ask.

"When we found out that you'd run off we came to find you. We got stuck at a junction, didn't know which way to turn, when we heard you shouting. We just followed your voice until we found you," Gale explains.

"So what now?"

"Well I assume that you snuck off to complete some sort of secret mission, we thought we'd come and help you. So what is it we're doing?"

In the strongest voice I can manage I say, "We're going to kill Snow."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Clove sneers.

I know I've got a good group here, we're all good fighters and we all want to kill Snow. We fill up our water bottles with fresh water from the tap, and pack a few tins of food into our backpacks. We're unsure of how close to the centre we are or if we'll find another empty house so we pack enough food for about a week. Before we leave we stuff ourselves with food, meaning that we'll be able to walk a long way before needing a rest. We also take it in turn to use the bathroom to have a brief wash. It's hard to leave the soft comfort of the house behind and return to the harsh reality of being confined in a metal tunnel, with nowhere to hide, but it's the only way to get close to the President.

Climbing down the ladder I try not to think about Peeta, though his face keeps forcing his way into my head. Not the image of the happy boy that I used to know, but the lifeless version with all warmth sucked out of it. In order to get rid of it I replace it with the image of a dead President Snow, an arrow sticking out of his chest. My arrow. He took the people I love away from me, my dear Prim and Peeta; in return I need to take from him.

My bow is constantly loaded; I'm not risking losing anyone else. Any peacekeeper that we run into won't get any chance to shout for help before my arrow pierces their throat. I walk at the front of the group, my mistake last night was letting Peeta walk ahead and that's what got him killed.

Being in the tunnels is hard, we're not governed by night or day; I lost all concept of time the moment I was first pulled into the building by Peeta. We walk whatever time of day, our way lit by artificial light showing us more metal walls and floors. It's tedious walking for so long with no change of scenery, not trees or buildings, just the same shiny metal showing us our reflections. We look awful, despite eating and washing at the last house, I dread to imagine what we looked like before. Although we've been stealing food from these houses, my uniform has already begun to hang off me, the others too. Gale's face looks thinner than before. Cato and Clove had been fed well enough in the arena, but even they are starting to show signs of fatigue and malnourishment. We all have bags under our eyes; sleep has been hard to come by down here.

"Did anyone else sleep while we were in the house?" I ask. They all shake their heads. "You need to sleep. I'll stay awake on guard."

"You sure?" Gale asks.

I nod. "I won't let you sleep for long, just a couple of hours. I don't think we'll be attacked again but obviously I'll wake you up if there's a problem."

The 4 of them spread a couple of the coats on the floor as a barrier between the cold metal floor and curl up to sleep. Gale is snoring within minutes; the poor guy must have been shattered after carrying me around and all that walking.

The silence around me is unnerving; all I can hear is the heavy breathing of my sleeping companions. It at least gives me a chance to process the events of earlier, or last night. I don't actually know how much time has passed since then, how long I've spent without Peeta. I wish we'd never left the squadron, how did we think we could survive down here? We have no map down here; we have no idea which direction to walk.

The silence is suddenly broken by the sound of footsteps. It's impossible to be quiet down here; the long metal tubes amplify even the smallest sound. The sound gets louder and louder, I am 100% sure that whoever or whatever is coming are targeting us. I hear the voice before I see where it belongs, "I'm sorry, I'm just following orders. I don't want to hurt you but they told me to," it's instantly recognizable. I never thought I'd hear that voice again, especially not in muttation form. Prim.


End file.
